Lifestyle
All things considered
How Reigning Champ brought their ethos to running apparel
Vancouver based brand Reigning Champ have made a name for themselves over the last decade for their considered design approach and their commitment to high quality sweats. They have a loyal customer base who appreciate well executed staples with a subtlety we’ve come to expect from Canadian brands.
On top of this, Reigning Champ have worked with some of the world’s leading sports culture brands, creating collaborations with everyone from New Era to adidas and even Top Dawg Entertainment - the independent record label home to Kendrick Lamar, among others.
The team from Vancouver have recently launched their first foray into performance apparel; technical garments designed to excel in the rigours of exercise. And despite their connection to sports like boxing, soccer, and basketball, Reigning Champ chose to focus on running as the first performance category for the brand.
It’s a big step for a brand to venture into the performance space. Given the reputation Reigning Champ have for quality, there’s a certain set of expectations associated with anything bearing the RC brand logo.
We caught up with Erik Schwab (Design) and James Soulodre (Marketing) from Reigning Champ to hear more about the new collection and find out just why they feel such a connection to running.
You guys have been around for a decade, but for people who don’t know the brand, what are you guys all about and what can we expect from the move into running?
James: We’ve been around for over 10 years. During that time we really built our name off quality construction, and quality constructed classic athletic wear in particular. We’re pretty well known for developing our own fabrics and producing our own sweat products and terry products. I’d say we’re really well known for producing off-court and off-field products for athletes, so our entry into performance is a natural progression.
Erik: The biggest philosophy when we sat down and started to think about what this could be was to approach it the way we approached our classics collection. Fit was important, premium materials were important, and we wanted an understated approach but lots of detail driven product. If you look at everything we do, nothing shouts in your face and that's very deliberate and on purpose.
Speaking of fabric development, that must be a resource heavy pursuit for a young brand. How challenging is that side of the business?
Erik: It never gets any easier! You still want to keep pushing boundaries but as a young brand it definitely has its challenges. Even basic things like meeting minimums can be tough. Over time we’ve been able to find key partners that we want to work with and develop relationships with.
Now that we’re going into the technical realm in a more meaningful way and focusing on true performance, we’ve had to both find new partners for some things and also utilise our existing relationships in a different way. It’s like anything though, it’s all about finding good people that you want to work with.
When you started looking at running, did anything from a garment perspective surprise you? Or were you focussed on achieving something in particular?
Erik: With the initial direction of trying to treat the product the same way we treated our original core product, we knew fit was important, premium materials were important, and then all the details - things like pockets and pocket placement, the drawcords and how long they are, those type of things are important too.
As a design led company we’re continually looking at stuff and questioning ‘why is it like that, I wish it were like this’, and so we were excited to have the opportunity to create it the way we wanted to.
The development stage was really fun, to pass stuff around the office and say to people ‘hey, take this home and beat the crap out of it, run as long as you can and tell us what you think’. It’s cool to be able to make our ideal pieces that we wish were out there; from look, to materials and functionality.
How long is the process from the initial decision to get into running to the release of the final product?
Erik: From conception to launching is quite a while! A couple of years actually, and there’s a few reasons for that. Figuring out what product we want takes time. Then finding the right manufacturing partner is hard; we had some things we wanted to accomplish, so finding someone that met those quality expectations was really important.
We actually found two partners we thought were right who didn't end up working out, so we had to start again and find someone that was better suited to us and able to achieve what we were looking for. We have a reputation and expectation on our brand to be a certain calibre, so we had to make sure we took the time to get it right.
That’s a fascinating detail to understand. The fact that time to market is measured in years, and you went down a path with different manufacturers a few times.
James: We could have definitely cut some corners, but we really wanted it to get it right the first time and put a product into the market that we’re proud of.
Erik Schwab"We actually found two partners we thought were right who didn't end up working out, so we had to start again and find someone that was better suited to us and able to achieve what we were looking for.
We have a reputation and expectation on our brand to be a certain calibre, so we had to make sure we took the time to get it right."
We’re seeing more and more great, understated, considered design coming out of Canada. Why do you think this is?
Erik: Being in Canada, especially in Vancouver, we’re exposed to a lot of variable weather. So it comes from necessity first I think, we have to consider these things. Being in a place where those variables are part of the lifestyle, you’re naturally going to consider things that other people maybe don't have to. When you see that type of product coming out of Canada, it’s coming from that authentic place of need and consideration.
Is there a particular technology or product that you’re especially excited to see in the market?
Erik: The short was an interesting endeavour. We had an engineered knit liner short made in one country, and the outer of the short made in another, and then we had them sewn together because the suppliers could not do both parts.
The liner itself is a knit liner and basically the idea of it is helping to eliminate seams (there is still stitching on the liner because you have to close it). There’s also a breathable mesh pattern knitted into the sides.
The outer is a really nice quiet, 4-way stretch, perforated mesh. It’s super light and breathable with a nice, soft elastic on the waist. Most shorts just have the outside shell fabric wrapped around on the waist.
The highlights of this project was first figuring out how to manufacture it, and then aligning those partners to produce something we believe to be unique in the market.
How do you guys approach the jacket and how do you make it better?
Erik: The focus of the jacket was to create a piece that we wanted to wear. Our jacket is actually two different fabrics. The whole front face, hood, and sleeves are a really nice ripstop nylon, so it provides great weather resistance and wind block. But what we noticed, and what came from use cases of us trying out different designs is that really you’re blocking the wind and the weather from the front or the top. The sides and the back don’t need to do that. So we used the same fabric from the shorts, which is a moisture wicking and breathable mesh fabric, to wrap the entire back of the jacket. We made the jacket to look very much like a simple black jacket from a distance, but when you get into it and look closely at it you’ll start to notice a lot of the detail we put into it.
James: Even though it's designed specifically for running, the aesthetic is very clean and modern and it’s something you can wear on a daily basis as a regular jacket.
It sounds like you have a lot of freedom to design without restriction. From the time that you guys have spent on development, to the fabrics and process, does it feel that way to you?
Erik: Our CEO is a product guy, he loves product and wants to see the best possible product out there. Like I said earlier, it was difficult to get those two factories in different countries talking to each other on the shorts, but we got it done. And I think that only happens when you have a culture coming from the top down that is committed to product. Not just trying to push costs down all the time.
Finally, you mentioned that running plays a part in your lives, tell me about that.
Erik: I grew up chasing my dad around, he was always a runner so it’s been in our family always. Now I use it as my escape - being in Vancouver we have so many great places to run, road and trail; trail actually is huge here.
The best part about running is you can take it anywhere, throw your shoes in your bag and you’re good to go. Arguably it's the best way to see a new city.
James: Both of my parents were marathoners when I was young. I actually did a ½ marathon when I was 13 without really training for it!
Ever since then it’s been a part of my daily life. Like Erik, I find it a very meditative way to clear my head, I often get my best ideas when I go for a run.
