Roland Mouret Body Brings the Designer’s Dynamic, Sportif Cuts to Activewear

There are wide elastic bands running down the rear of an all-in-one, adding a very Mouret graphic sensibility to the design, but which are also practical, holding the bodysuit in place as the upper torso twists and turns. A jacket might come with a paneled draped open back which falls into a V shape, decorative yet also allowing for ventilation in the (no pun intended here) coolest of ways possible. The colors zing too. An all-in-one might come with the top half in pink and black, the lower half in orange, while elsewhere there are pairings of lilac and pistachio, denuding them of their inherent prettiness and replacing that instead with a sportif vibe.

Mouret spent many months – before COVID arrived, in fact – working on the collection, draping it 3D style as he would his regular designs, and then getting the women in the studio to take them home and try them when they worked out. Their feedback was then factored into the final designs. But he’s also cognizant of the fact that for many today activewear has become something which can be worn throughout the day. “They are easy to go out in,” says Mouret. “You wear a jacket on top, and put on a pair of sandals, and off you go. Because I think that is something that I have to play with a bit. These pieces aren’t Nike Pro.” (Incidentally, the palette of Roland Mouret Body will reflect the colors he is using in his main collection, so they can be interchangeable.)

But what they are, in a way, is a holistic representation of what might be needed as we all edge back into our new ways of life. That much of this was conceptualized during the pandemic has left its mark: Mouret noted the uptick in cycling – “You couldn’t buy a bike in London during lockdown last year,” he says – and the needs of what you might want to wear when you’re doing that was foremost in his mind. But so too was the synchronization of body and of mind health. “I’ve realized that over the last two years how much mental health and wellbeing passes through to the body,” he says. “As women have started to train again, I think they’re training from a different angle. It’s not just to be and look more fit. It is to train to feel balance, to feel good with yourself, to be able to control this emotion. And that has been the best thing about this project.”