- Fitness tracker brand Whoop has launched a new range of high-fashion sportswear.
- Project Terrain is a “technical garment system” designed by A-COLD-WALL founder Samuel Ross MBE
- Layer 1 of the collection includes baselayers and outerwear for men and women, with Any-Wear Pods in the shorts to store your device off your wrist.
Fitness tracker Whoop is launching its own clothing range with a difference: a couture capsule collection instead of the usual merchandise, created in collaboration with a leading fashion designer.
The garments feature innovations such as reflective patches for increased visibility while running, windows on the sleeves so runners can see their watches, and Any-Wear Pods so users can remove Whoops from their body. But they are all, in one piece, expensive sportswear with a sleek black look, as you can see in some of the promotional photos.
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“Over the years, I’ve had a deep love for Whoop and its design excellence, and with Project Terrain I wanted to focus 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 were creating pieces that were intentional with their visibility of Whoop and create a new identity of what it means to use Whoop. In the end, it becomes its own hardware visual language with a beautiful design that is based on high performance first.”
The collection also arrives with two new Whoop bands for 5.0 and Whoop MG.
When I heard that Whoop was making its first forays from a fitness tracker to a lifestyle brand, competing with companies like Nike and Lululemon, I expected this kind of thing. Whoop, as a premium product, can often be seen on the wrists of members of high-end gyms like Equinox and Barry’s, and is launching its first collection to this audience.
From calling each wave of the collection a “Layer” to insisting that this is not a product line but a “wearable system built for exploration,” the capsule collection combines a bit of impenetrable couture with the tech jargon you’d expect from Nike’s range of premium marathon running shoes.
There are some interesting innovations here, though, like built-in capsules for your Whoop to slide into for easier off-body tracking, but there’s a lot of disconnect 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 jet black, making it a bit of a risky choice if you’re looking to be seen. Most running nightwear is anything. but black. You also have windows on the wrist of your running jacket, but Whoop doesn’t even have a screen, making this design feature a bit redundant. However, it would work great with the best running watches.
These disconnects prevent the collection’s value from reaching the heights of a comprehensive ‘wearable system’ and reduce it to ‘expensive athleisure’, especially at higher price points. But the simple barrier of price never stopped companies like Lululemon, Nike and Gym+Coffee. You can see the collection here.
