Luxury sportswear is having a moment as niche brands redefine workout fashion

Sometimes, the seeds for fashion’s most compelling shifts are sown far away from runways and high-end ateliers.

For Johanna Parv, the London-based independent designer whose namesake brand merges the worlds of cycling and luxury fashion, the impulse built as she traversed the city on two wheels, seeing the way people had to awkwardly manipulate their outfit to avoid, say, getting a suit trouser or skirt hem caught in their bike chain.

See her chicer-than-a-windbreaker water-repellent shell jacket, designed to be worn over backpacks; or her sleek skirt trousers in recycled nylon Lycra, which stay in place thanks to internal silicone dots, and have stirrup-like details at the hem for heeled shoes.

As a lifelong cyclist herself, Parv has high standards. “It’s vital to me that I wear and test everything we produce: we start from basic things like storage – having more pockets and openings – and ventilation details. We focus heavily on ergonomic cutting, really thinking about the body first: how we move, and how the garment interacts and reacts to that action.”

This zealous approach to fabrication, construction and style is setting a cohort of sportswear brands apart from the rest of the market – a mainstream inundated with comfortable but samey leggings and sports bra sets, and logo-fronted tracksuits. Enter: niche workout wear for the fashion set.

Bechara found that reading and writing took him to a similar head space as a long run; he and co-founder Deirdre Matthews enlisted fellow runner, stylist and creative director Jackie McKeown to realise their vision.