March 29, 2024

Former Nike Designer Launches Wone, a Minimalist Luxury Activewear Label to Watch

Its 2018, and theres a decent chance youre tired of hearing about new activewear and athleisure companies — and trust us, weve spared you a lot of them. But this one is doing things a little differently, and were intrigued.

Kristin Hildebrand has been making her mark on the fashion landscape for the past decade or so: She was an OG fashion blogger, launching Bleach Black in 2008. Shortly thereafter, she helped create one of the first big influencer collabs ever — RVCA x Erin Wasson — before getting scooped up by Niketo creatively direct and conceptualize the brands womens collection.

She spent seven years at the worlds biggest sports company, earning the title of creative concept director; now, shes using what shes learned to strike out on her own, hoping to fill a gap in a very crowded space.

Wone (pronounced like “won”) is a high-end, minimalist activewear line sold direct to consumer in limited runs. Its chic — a word that, while overused, cant usually be applied to sports clothes.

Still, it definitely applies to Hildebrands refreshingly simple square-neck spaghetti strap sports bra, scoop-neck crop top and virtually seamless leggings — all available only in black and made from high-quality French fabrics. Its basically The Row of activewear.

During a preview at the Beverly Hills Hotel, Portland-based Hildebrand, who self-funds the line with her husband, explained how traditional brands tend to think about creating value for customers: “Theyre thinking, How can you get the customer to understand why this is a high price point? Therefore we need to add value, and so theres all these seaming details and excessive pieces that you dontnecessarily really need. Our vision for this was just take away as much as possible and reinvest in the fabric. ” Hence the very simple silhouettes.

The fabricsare expensive — so much so that Nike wouldnt let her use one of them for a celebrity partnership she was working on (that ultimately didnt come to fruition). Its apparently used for Tour de France cycling outfits. “Within the industry in general, these are fabrications you wont see ever, specifically because its too expensive,” she explains. “Weve got fabrics that are $20 a yard versus fabrics that most brands are working on which are $2. 50 to $4. Theyre only approved for 50 washes; were approved for 50,000 washes. ”

So yes, the line is price-y — from $150 for a sports bra to $320 for leggings — but the idea is that they will be all you need for years to come, able to withstand countless workouts, washings and trends. Hildebrand also feels that the brands timeless silhouettes and long-lasting fabrics make it more environmentally responsible (i. e. , less likely to end up in a landfill). She plans to drop collections twice per year.

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The minimalist design is also part of a business strategy, as is the size of the first collection: There are only five styles, one colorway (black), and 600 units of each style. “Iwant to make sure to sell out each season,” she says. By not having much variety and selling directly to consumers, theres no risk of excess inventory or having to mark things down.

But perhaps most important toHildebrand is the ability to communicate directly with her customers and have a personal connection. “I want to have a different relationship with my clients than I had in the past,” she says. “I want to know my clients, I want to understand if theyre liking things, if theyre not and reasons why. I want them to have access to me. ” Thus, Wones e-commerce strategy is a tad unconventional. Interested shoppers mustsign up for email updates; Hildebrand is “hand-approving” a limited number of members who have one week to make their purchases and everyone else is waitlisted until a new spot opens up. Those who do make purchases within that one-week frame will become “elevated members” who then get specialaccess to all special events and the next collection. Its a concept borrowed from fancy wine clubs.

Wone is also holding private fitting appointments in big cities including Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York. As for marketing, Hildebrand plans to gift a few friends with large followings, and while Wone has an Instagram account, it has no permanent posts yet and only uses Stories.

Its an unusual approach that feels a bit exclusive and maybe even counter-productive to making money and spreading awareness, but Hildebrand hopes it will result in a more dedicated, engaged customer base. Plus, going against the grain is the whole point: “Im making all these decisions because I want the outcome to be very different from that of my past,” she says. “We want this really small, lovely, manageable business. ”

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