In a move carefully orchestrated by Queen Bey herself, the Ivy Park SS18 collection drops on International Women’s Day 2018 with a pretty dope campaign to accompany it.
Shot in Crystal Palace Sports Centre, the campaign is centred around the idea that there is a sport out there for everyone, you just need to find “The One”. When Ivy Park first launched, it made the mistake of dropping a gazillion different styles in a percrillion different colour ways meaning it felt a little muddled and almost lost its message. I went to the launch and at the time, the premise was good, but somewhere along the way, that message of female empowerment was lost.
Now though the collection is curated and the benefit of hindsight has shown Ivy Park Holdings exactly what people want from an athleisure brand that’s as fit for the gym as it is for the streets. With a core range of shapes and an introduction of a new accent colour with each new inter-seasonal drop, customer buying trends have been key to establishing the brand for what it is today. Remember Voyeurs, Ivy Park isn’t Beyonce’s first foray into the world of fashion, (House of Deréon anyone?) and she knows that this needs to be perfectly pitched to fit her carefully curated image.
So, is the collection any good?
Well yes actually. A large proportion of my gym wardrobe is made up of Ivy Park pieces and I’m not being paid to say that, or to wear them. In the beginning I was certain I wouldn’t be a fan and after being gifted a few items from the inaugural season, I’ve become a genuine fan. Pieces are stylish and functional and despite being sold in Topshop which is primarily a fashion store, Ivy Park stays true to it’s mission statement and is pretty awesome gym wear. There are a range of cuts, styles, lengths and depths of leggings available and they have a two way stretch meaning that they don’t sag after a few wears and washes. Trust me when I say, they’re worth the hype. In fact, every time I’m at The Barre, I’d say there’s always at least five other Barre Belles in there wearing the brand.
The campaign itself was shot by director Jonas Lindstroem and features a diverse (natch) cast of athletic talent who’ll make you want to think twice about cancelling that gym membership you never use. Focussing on female empowerment as its main driver, the campaign has no shameless appearances by Beyonce leaving the collection itself to speak to the viewer. High Five Bey.
Personally, I’m a big fan, I think after a weak start, Ivy Park has come back stronger with every drop and has established itself firmly at the top of every fashionistas gym wear wardrobe, it’s a brand that oozes urban cool and I know I’ll be buying from the SS18 drop. Like right now….
Pixie
Want to get your hands on the latest Ivy Park pieces, go here.
