You officially have no excuse to skip the gym. Country Road is launching a new range, Active, designed for exercise – and it looks like a must-have.Particularly because they’ve picked up willowy high jump champion Amy Pejkovic (who moonlights as a model) to lead the campaign. Unfair.
By Kate-Marie Thorpe
It will be launching from 9 October, and the preview film, ‘Raise The Pulse’, showing off the range indicates that it’s got something for everybody.”The range seemed like a natural progression for Country Road,” said the brand’s managing director, Sophie Holt. “The product offers the perfect balance of style and function, with a focus on great colour and high performance fabrics.”So let’s assess what we’ve seen thus far – and whether it will hold up in the tough exercise gear market.
The range of sheer waterproof hoodies, including some with polka dots, are extra-cute for their combination of functionality and chic. And plain baseball caps without ornate design could be a decent buy for runners.Bright fluoro pink matching leggings and tops might be reserved for gym extroverts – we’re not sure about the flattering value of pink spandex. More successful? The black set flecked with tiny white uneven paint-spots. That’s achingly cool for this season, and very streamlined.
Monochrome in general, with accents of neon, is the picture story of this collection, and on the whole it works well – who likes to feel fussy or over-dressed when they’re exercising? Futuristic sleekness is definitely our kind of sportswear.
Our favourites? The sports bra-tops with combinations of pale aqua, pink, white and grey – a flattering swathe of colours with some sturdy straps and design underneath. Too often fashionable sportswear forgets that it’s actually meant to, you know, be worn during sport.
We have one niggle. It doesn’t look like there’s much for bustier women, which is often a problem with elite luxury exercise gear. The choice of Pejkovic as a model means that everything looked wonderful, but that it was difficult to imagine musclier or different body types rocking the looks.Country Road is dipping its toes in one of the most increasingly profitable parts of the female fashion industry. Ever since Stella McCartney collaborated on a high-end luxury sportswear range with Adidas, we’ve been convinced that fashion and the gym can be united without sacrificing efficiency or style.
It remains to be seen whether the Australian exercising cohort take to their range like a Thorpedo to water, but we suspect – considering some of the excellent patterns and colours on show – it’ll be a sell-out. Better sprint in soon.
Image: Country Road’s Active
