GQ_Australia_-_February_2017

134 GQ.COM.AU FEBRUARY 2017

CHAMPION

D

avidandBrooklynBeckham,

Chris Hemsworth, Zac

Efron, Colin Farrell,

TomHiddlestonandJoe

Manganiello all share

something in common

beyond being ripped and famous – they’re

oftenphotographedingymkit.

And a simple game of ‘copy the celeb’ isn’t

thesolereasonforthisfast-adoptingtrend–

Australianmenarenowlessafraidofouting

theirsartorialeyethantheyusedtobe.

Asking‘whoareyouwearing’isamodern

catchcrythatstartedoutattheracesorin

theworkplaceandnowpopsupatvarious

formsofexercise–fromsweatingitoutin

thegymtoanintenseF45classorwhile

turningyourselfintoadownwarddog.

Researchersclaimsomesciencehere–

‘enclothedcognition’atheorythatclothes

affectawearer’spsychologicalprocesses.

Dr Adam Galinsky, one of the men behind

the idea, toldThe New York Times:“Wethink

notjustwithourbrainsbutwithourbodies,

andourthoughtprocessesarebasedon

physical experiences that set off associated

abstractconcepts.Nowitappearsthatthose

experiencesincludetheclotheswewear,

anditwouldmakesensethatwhenyouwear

athletic clothing, you become more active

andmorelikelytogoandworkout.”

EnterCanadianlabelLululemonAthletica,

whichischallengingsportsweargiantsNike,

UnderArmourandAdidas,andhasinthe

past 18 months really turned its attention

tothemen’smarket.Creativedirector,Lee

Holman – whose eclectic CV includes stints

in luxury (Burberry, Paul Smith), sportswear

(Nike)andhighstreet(Levi’s,Abercrombie

&Fitch)–tellsGQabouttheongoingriseof

“athleisure”andthetoolsthatdrivehis label’s

successinanalreadynoisy market.

LOOK TO THE BEST

“PaulSmithisamaverickinhowhethinks

abouthisconsumerandthestores,”offers

Holman. “At Abercrombie, [CEO] Mike

JeffriescuratedwhatA&Fwasaboutinthe

senseofgoingintothestoretoseewhat

theclothesfeltandsmeltlike.AndIsetup

the Burberry Brit line with [then creative

director] Christopher Bailey to help elevate

andchangeamoreheritagebrand.To

witness how Burberry helped fashion and

digitalcometogetherwas amazing.”

MAKE AN IMPACT

“I used my experiences, from the fashion

elements of Burberry to the technical aspects

atNike,tohelpdefinewhatLululemon

stands for. One thing that attracted me

to the role was how active and luxury are

mergingandhowLululemonbuildsproducts

–howitlooksathigh-end,howitfinishesand

howitbringscraftsmanshipintotheproduct

issomethingIwassoexcitedaboutand

missed from working at Burberry.”

INNOVATE

“Lululemonisarealoriginatorandpavedthe

wayforactivewear.It’sbroughtthenotionof

functionalityfirstandthenotionofbeauty

andfashion.Andit’ssetaprecedentforhow

peoplearemovingintheirlifestyle.Alotof

thethingswedoatLululemonstartfrom

theyarnupwards,includinghandlingall

our fabrics [specifically its Nulux technical

fabric], working with our venders and

pushinginnovationandnewmachinery.”

TEST, TEST AND TEST SOME MORE

“Wetestonathletesanddidsoonour

Olympicproducts.Beachvolleyballplayers

came in and got into a climate chamber

to mimic Rio’s conditions. We adjusted

products as they reacted to motion,

environment and performance. This way we

have so much more opportunity to bring the

fashionandthefunctiontogether,andto

be overt with that. That’s where our unique

pointofviewisandthat’sexciting.”

KNOW THE MARKET

“Culturally,peoplearechangingtheir

lifestyles,sothey’remoreawareofwellness

andnutritionandbeingactive.There’salot

ofdifferentavenuesandpeoplearetrying

differentthings.Runnersaren’tjustrunning

24/7–they’redoingyoga,TRX or boxing.”

KNOW THE CUSTOMER

“Thedesignteamwasinspiredbythenew

wave of hybrid workouts, which combine fast

andfluidmovementsintoonesweatysession.

We’remoreabouthowyourbodymoves

ratherthantheactualsport,whichhighlights

how we approach designing products. We

look at two parameters: fast activities, such

asrunningandswimming,thenmorefluid

activitiessuchasyogaandTRX.Wetry

andcaterforthatsweetspotinthemiddle,

sowe’rereallylookingatthetrainingzone

ofhowpeopleareworkingoutfromfast

to fluid, which complements the technical

fabrics we use.”

LOOK DOWN UNDER

“Being active is in the blood of Australians

andthatgoessowellwithLululemon.That’s

biginthemarket–howpeopleareliving

theirlives,beingactiveandtransitioning

throughouttheirday,especiallyhowmuch

time is spentoutintheopenair.It’sgreat

intelforourinnovators.”

KEEP THINGS REAL

“We’re much more authentic

and sell the journey and the

athlete. We approach it very

much through grass roots,

sowebringthebrandto

communities and have local

ambassadors [rather than pay

famous sportsmen millions of

dollars]. We highlight them by

tellingastoryaroundayoga

or running community.”

SAVVY BRANDING

“At Lululemon we don’t build

productsaroundalogo–we

build it around functionality.

Alotofourproductsevendownplaythelogo.

Whenyougetintotheclothesandstartto

wearthem,theyspeakforthemselves,rather

than needing to be showcased. Marketing has

movedonandconsumersaresavvier.”

EMBRACE THE FUTURE

“We’re exploring the notion of ‘Sweatlife’

–fromhavingagymmembershiptocaring

aboutnutrition,peopleworkdifferently

than they did 10 years ago. Look at how the

retail and digital landscapes have changed.

Peoplewantdifferentthingsfromtheir

mobileandshoppingin-store.‘Sweatlife’

toucheseveryaspectofhowyou’reliving

and Lululemon could touch all those parts of

yourlife.Ifyouwenttothegym,wecould

giveyouanoutfitfortheclassyou’redoing.

Imaginetestingtheproductsandgiving

feedbackfromtheclassyouweresweatingin.

Theproductcouldjustbeinnovatedaround

that.Startingabrandtotouchallthose

points,sothatyoucanhavethewhole360

‘sweatlife’,wouldbeamazing.People want

that holistic point of view.”

Lululemon Athletica’s first local concept store

outsideofNorthAmericarecentlyopened in

Bondi, Sydney; lululemon.com.au ADDITIONAL WORDS: JONATHAN GOODAIR. PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES; BEN RIGGOTT.

LEE HOLMAN,

LULULEMON ATHLETICA'S

CREATIVE DIRECTOR.