A NEW VOICE IN HAYES VALLEY
The founder of activewear brand Outdoor Voices is on a mission to get people to do things — think hiking and dog jogs — and she’s got a new San Francisco store to help them do it.
On Saturday, Dec. 2, Outdoor Voices plans to open its third permanent retail store, at 555 Hayes St. in Hayes Valley, as part of a West Coast expansion that includes another store in West Hollywood in December. This joins locations in New York’s Nolita neighborhood and in Austin, Texas (plus a few other pop-up stores).
Colorado native Tyler Haney, a former hurdler who studied design at Parsons School of Design, founded the company in January 2013 as an antidote to the hardcharging messaging from brands such as Nike and Under Armour and the exclusive, yoga-centric ethos of Lululemon.
Think of Outdoor Voices as the activewear brand for the everywoman (and man).
“I wanted to free fitness from performance, so that it feels like play,” Haney says. “With OV, I created a brand that isn’t for athletes but for people who love to be active.”
Products include simple monochromatic leggings and shorts, sports bras and crop-tops and a few hoodies and sweatpants; most are between $60 and $100. Online shoppers can shop by activity (jogging, hiking, spinning, yoga, dog walking) or shop for a “kit,” which pairs a top with a bottom based on general activity. Haney says the designs are meant to be accessible to all, regardless of age or shape.
The idea of inclusivity is in high demand in fashion, media and beauty, with gender-neutral clothing and size-agnostic merchandising being hot topics in the retail industry. Fittingly, actor Lena Dunham was the first high-profile brand advocate. In a July 2015 Instagram post of her jogging in a navy crop-top and leggings, Dunham wrote, “Basically my whole life I have hated running and run like a wounded baby Pterodactyl ... @jennikonner is directing the season finale of Girls and decided that as Hannah evolved so would her run, so she got me a training session with Matt Wilpers from Mile High Run Club. Within an hour I had a different relationship to this formerly torturous activity. I felt strong, swift and proud. I’m not about to embrace that triathlon life but it’s a true joy to continue getting more connected to my body and its powers.”
Dunham was wearing the brand’s first collaborative kit, created by Leandra Medine of Man Repeller — another personality who has bucked the elitism of fashion; the kit sold out in three days. (A second collaboration with French brand APC followed in August 2016.)
In November, Outdoor Voices introduced a limited-edition collaboration with tech-world favorite AllBirds, which makes sustainable wool sneakers. The $195 (men’s) and $220 (women’s) kits were inspired by “jogwalking” and include a top, bottom and pair of shoes, in navy or gray. (Alas, this
won’t be carried in the San Francisco store.)
Outdoor Voices has also attracted interest from the investment community, raising $29 million from the likes of General Catalyst (ClassPass, Warby Parker, The Honest Co.), Forerunner Ventures (Glossier, Dollar Shave Club) and Gwyneth Paltrow. Perhaps most notably, it got the support of veteran retail CEO Mickey Drexler, who three years ago said that J.Crew would not pursue activewear. And yet, Outdoor Voices became the first activewear brand sold at J.Crew, Haney said. The two “stayed close,” and this August, Drexler (who stepped down from J. Crew in June) joined the Outdoor Voices board of directors as chairman.
Haney, now guided by Drexler’s tutelage, approaches retail in a way that many brands have found useful in what has become, often, a digitalfirst industry: with experiential elements that soft-sell products in addition to other “perks” of coming to the store. Haney calls it a “clubhouse” where people can join a hikers’ club or do pilates while picking up product (70 percent of sales are still online).
Haney hints at more events and collaborations going forward. This month, the brand organized its first large-scale event in the form of a nationwide “dog jog.” “It’s our version of a Nike 10k,” she says.