Yahoo Style
No Sweat: 6 Indie Athleisure Brands You Need to Know Now
Yahoo Style
Updated
Sweat the Crew: A collaboration between model Adrienne Ho & Pac Sun
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As a model and immensely popular fitness blogger, Adrianne Ho has spent the past several years pretty much living in activewear, sharing each look with her 370K Instagram followers, and on her website, Sweat the Style. So when she was approached by PacSun to create her very own line of athletic gear, Ho already had access to the kind of market research most fledgling brands could only dream of. “I live in this stuff so I know what lasts, what feels good and what details are most useful,” says Ho who also polled the numerous women she features on her blog, including models, artists and athletes. Such ingenious details include zippered pockets on leggings and shorts that can fit the iPhone 6 and won’t get in the way when doing crunches, and a longer-line silhouette that covers the bum when wearing leggings. “The whole approach to the brand is authentic and real because it comes from me and the girls we feature on Sweat The Style, which are my real friends,” Ho says. “We kind of did things backwards in that way. My lifestyle is the marketing and the clothing is simply a by-product, not the other way around, which is the way most businesses work nowadays.” She also knew what was missing from the market, style-wise. “Right now there are no other active brands out there with this aesthetic for women,” says Ho, who describes Sweat Crew as functional workout gear in “high fashion silhouettes with a street edge.” Think Supreme meets Nike—but for girls. Partnering with PacSun allowed Ho access to sophisticated manufacturing products, and support that allowed her to push the limits in terms of quality and style while keep the line affordable (prices range from $27, for a long-sleeve t-shirt, to $67, for a jacket). “Basing choices on your feelings and not necessarily on trends or the bottom line is truly liberating for a new brand,” she said. “Without PacSun as a partner that would be impossible.”
Outdoor Voices: Chic workout gear for the “recreational jogger babe.”
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A self-proclaimed “recreational jogger babe,” 26-year-old Tyler Haney launched Outdoor Voices as an alternative to the hyper-competitive, ultra-sporty message she felt other fitness brands were pushing. “Our apparel is made for paths, streets, fields, and beaches—pursuits that are unlikely to attract primetime coverage,” reads the brand’s mission statement. “It’s simple, really: doing things is better than not doing things, and we make clothing for exactly that purpose.” While you can hit a hardcore yoga class or run a marathon in the line, Haney is tapping into the fact that women want and need a certain level of functionality and practicality to do things we don’t typically think of as exercise, like running errands or walking the dog, while still looking good. The range is also direct-to-consumer keeping prices relatively low (technical leggings cap at $95, while sports bras and tank tops hover in the $50 range), and the aesthetic is decidedly streamlined and feminine (items are more likely to come in soft colors like pink blush and mint than neon and black), winning over fashion industry fans like Leandra Medine, who recently collaborated with the brand on an exclusive mini-capsule collection.
Tracksmith: Making running matter again.
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Anyone who has talked to a marathoner or long-distance runner knows that running is about much more than just fitness. Enthusiasts wax poetic (whether you want them to or not) about the emotional and mental benefits associated with running, and it was precisely that passion for the sport that inspired Matt Taylor to found Tracksmith. “As a life-long runner, I felt that other brands had really lost touch with the sport and the culture,” says Taylor. “Often times, they’re much more focused on a general health and wellness message that doesn’t quite capture the imagination of anyone. Tracksmith aims to make running matter again.” To that end, the line harkens back to long-distance running’s golden days in the 1970s: popular styles include classic running shorts ($60) and a mesh singlet ($65) inspired by classic track jerseys—and equipped with safety pins with which to secure your number on race day.
Olympia: Simple west coast-based workout gear without any frills.
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Founder and designer Kaili Lickle spent a good chunk of her childhood soaking up the great outdoors in her native Maui, but when she relocated to San Francisco to pursue a degree in design and visual merchandising she began spending more time inside, becoming a yoga and cycling enthusiast. It was then that she noticed a huge hole in her wardrobe. “I started the company after the realization that what I wanted to workout in wasn’t out there,” she says. “I couldn’t find simple, functional, stylish activewear.” Lickle launched the brand in 2014, and it now includes a wide range of items including sports bras ($70), leggings ($94), loungewear ($208) and even yoga mats ($88). Lickle says the breadth of the offering is key: “I switch up my workouts often and so an active wardrobe that translates across multiple activities is essential,” she said. Standout styles include leggings with mesh panels, high-necked sports bras in neutral colors, jersey-inspired t-shirts, and color-blocked bike shorts. “I’ve tried to stay true to my starting mentality which was all about simplicity, clean lines, and modern cuts,” says Lickle. “I want our product to be technical yet beautiful. Nothing over designed, no excessive detail. We don’t do crazy prints or garish colors.” Her design aesthetic, simply put: “I design what I want to wear.”
Monreal: Tennis-inspired outfits for on and off the court.
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Tennis has long been one of fashion’s favorite sports (see: Anna Wintour’s obsession with it). It’s easy to see why: Tennis is perhaps the only sport you can play in a dress or skirt with any seriousness. Yet despite all that, not much has changed in tennis wear over the past several decades, at least aesthetically speaking. Enter Monreal: a completely functional tennis brand with a high-fashion, high-tech edge. Developed and designed by Stefan? Grosse, an avid tennis player and fashion industry vet, Monreal offers dresses, skirts and other items that adhere to most dress codes for tennis clubs, with updated details like mesh panels and colorful drawstrings. The brand also has a patent pending on their popular booty boost shorts ($149) and leggings ($340), which allow players to store balls into a hidden pocket that stretches across the entire backside, facilitating a habit female pros have of tucking balls into the hem of their shorts while playing. Since launching with a capsule collection of dresses ($370), which promptly sold out, Monreal has expanded to include styles fit for cycling, hitting the gym, or just hanging out.
Live the Process: For the spiritual yogi who likes to brunch (and sweat).
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Not many people embark on an inner journey and then wind up with a business plan. But then, Robyn Berkley is not most people. In 2011, after a highly successful career at fashion PR company People’s Revolution, Berkley left her job and found herself without a clear next step. “In that transiting time frame I chose to get certified to become a yoga teacher and had the fortune of going to do that in Bali,” says Berkley. “I stopped for the first time in over 10 years and really was able to look within and find out what was going to make me happy and how at the same time could I give back to others.” Though she eventually decided teaching yoga wasn’t the path for her, Berkley began concepting for a brand, which initially launched as a content website, that would share her passion for health and wellness. “It was using all of my knowledge in healing myself and giving it back to others, while creating a collection that reflected everything I thought was missing from the market at the time,” she says. What was missing, said Berkley, were fashion-forward, figure flattering silhouettes that women could wear to yoga—and then straight to lunch. One of the line’s staple styles, a high-waisted legging ($165) with a fold-over waist that “holds your body in,” comes in an array of patterns and colors; they’re kind of like Spanx that you can work out in, which has made them a hit among Berkley’s native fashion crowd. Incorporating her original goal of giving back, Berkley has begun working with philanthropic organizations on “charitable collaborations,” the first of which was with the David Lynch Foundation. But what really sets Live the Process apart is the message that, according to Berkley, “No one is better or worse than another just at different part of their process.”
Five years ago, if you wanted to buy, say, a pair of workout leggings or a technically sophisticated sports bra, there were only a few premium brands you could go to. That’s been true for decades. Unlike any other sector of the market (besides, perhaps, lingerie) activewear has been dominated by the same mega brands pretty much since its inception. While indie labels seem to sprout up like mushrooms in every other category of womenswear, they’ve been noticeably absent from athletics. There are a few good reasons for this. For one, producing quality workout gear can get complicated: It’s not just about creating a stylish garment—items must be functional, durable, and provide support and comfort for the highly specific movements of any given sport or activity. But more importantly, up until recently, there hasn’t been that much demand.
Clearly—as anyone who has even a passing interest in fashion will know—that’s no longer the case. According to a report from retail analyst company Euromonitor, athleisure continues to be a “major trend” in womenswear, with “millennials adding activewear to their daily wardrobes.”
“With active lifestyles becoming more popular,” reads the report, “consumers increasingly want access to versatile technology in sports apparel throughout the year.”
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Unsurprisingly, a handful of innovative new brands have launched to capitalize on the growing interest in activewear. Here, a primer on the best of the bunch, including who they are and what makes them different from the rest.
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