Giambattista Valli is the latest designer to enter the booming activewear market.
The new activewear collection will be launched in June 2018 along with the label’s Pre-Fall line. It will feature 50-60 pieces consisting of coats, puffer jackets, sweatshirts and tracksuits.
Priced between 1,100 and 2,500 euros, the collection will be available for purchase at Giambattista Valli boutiques and select speciality stores.
Since his label’s inception in March 2005, Valli has become renowned for his feminine cocktail gowns and dresses that characterise string structural and well-tailored silhouettes.
However, the recent lifestyle shift towards comfort and athleisure has presented a lucrative opportunity for the designer’s (already) famous brand.
Capitalising on the popularity and reach, the designer has been observed subtly introducing activewear pieces within his recent collections by pairing flirty ruffled tops and taffeta jackets over Nike leggings/running tights and logo-centric denim pieces in his Fall/Winter 2017 and Spring/Summer 2018 collections, respectively.
The Italian designer insists that the activewear line is not a secondary line by the label but is, in fact, a step to introduce casual clothing featuring technical elements that gradually expand to include even beachwear.
On the retail front, Valli, with support from Artémis (who is the private investment arm of the Pinault family and a major stakeholder in Kering), aims to open stand-alone boutiques in Doha in January, and Seoul and Beijing by April 2018.
“We really want to explore the brand, to give it the widest scale possible while keeping that sense of privilege that you have when you approach it,” Valli said.
