- Fitness tracker brand Whoop has launched a new range of high-fashion athleisure
- Project Terrain is a “technical clothing system” designed by A-COLD-WALL founder Samuel Ross MBE
- Layer 1 of the collection features baselayers and outerwear for men and women, with Any-Wear Pods in the shorts to store your device off-wrist
Fitness tracker Whoop is launching its own clothing line with a difference – a high-fashion capsule collection rather than the usual merch, created in collaboration with a well-known fashion designer.
The garment features innovations such as reflective patches for running visibility, sleeve windows so runners can see their watches, and Any-Wear Pods for wearers to clip their Whoops off their bodies. But they’re all expensive casual wear with a slick-black look, as you can see in some of the promo photos.
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“Over the years I’ve had a deep love for Whoop and their design excellence, and with Project Terrain I wanted to hone in on the mutual feeling you get when you meet another Whoop user,” Ross writes in the collection’s press release.
“I wanted to make sure we created pieces that were conscious with their visibility of the Whoop and created a new identity of what it means to wear the Whoop. Ultimately, it becomes its own visual hardware language with a beautiful design that is first and foremost rooted in high performance.”
The collection also comes with two new Whoop bands for the 5.0 and Whoop MG.
When I found out that Whoop was making its first forays from fitness tracker to lifestyle brand, taking on Nike and Lululemon, I expected this sort of thing. Whoop, as a premium product, can often be seen on the wrists of members of high-end gyms such as Equinox and Barry’s, and it is pitching its first collection to this audience.
From calling each wave of the collection a ‘layer’ to insisting this isn’t a merch line but a ‘wearable system built for exploration’, the capsule collection mixes a good bit of impenetrable high fashion with the tech jargon you’d expect from Nike’s premium marathon shoe line.
There are a few neat innovations here though, such as built-in pods that your Whoop can slide into for easy off-body tracking, but there are a lot of interruptions or lack of consideration for other technical aspects.
For example, we have reflective patches on the jackets and shorts for running in low light conditions, but the entire collection is pitch black, making it a slightly risky choice if you’re aiming to be seen. Most nightwear for running is anything but black. You also have windows on the wrists of your running jacket, but the Whoop doesn’t even have a screen, making this design feature a bit redundant. However, it would work very well with the best running watches.
These interruptions prevent the value of the collection from reaching the heights of a comprehensive ‘portable system’ and bring it back to ‘expensive athleisure’, especially at premium prices. But the simple barrier of being expensive never stopped the likes of Lululemon, Nike and Gym+Coffee. You can see the collection here.
