Meet The Athleisure Brands With A Message
Fashion has always been a means to a message. From Maria Grazia Chiuri’s spring 2017 collection featuring graphic tees that read “We Should All Be Feminists” to Pyer Moss’ “America, Also: Lesson 2” spring 2019 collection, designers have historically embraced fashion’s ability to provoke change, inspire conversation, and educate the masses.
Today is no different. And as well-established fashion houses continue to weave political and societal messages into their garments, a new crop of athleisure brands are beginning to speak up. Tapping into consumers’ stay-at-home needs with clothes that both offer and evoke wellness, Museum of Peace & Quiet, The Local Love Club, and Total Luxury Spa are among the few brands bred to remind consumers to invest in a more positive lifestyle.
Here, meet the brands promoting mindfulness, encouraging inner peace, and spreading kindness at a time in which society needs it most.
Museum of Peace & Quiet
California-based couple Christion and Ashley Lennon founded Museum of Peace & Quiet over two years ago as an outlet for expression following a road trip through America’s deserts. Inspired by the landscapes encountered along the way and the tranquility it can produce, the duo turned to leisurewear to promote a clear state-of-mind and centered focus among consumers. The brand’s simple aesthetic and minimalistic designs capture earth’s neutral tones reflected in varsity-style crewnecks, graphic t-shirts, and canvas totes, while embroidered baseball caps reading “Peace & Quiet” encourage the need for a mental respite from modern life.
Beyond the tangible, the label provides an oasis from our cluttered reality inviting consumers into the couple’s relaxed way of life. “For us, this business is fully our lifestyle,” Christion Lennon explains. “It’s really our life—from our house to the way we spend our day. It all defines what the brand is, how it looks, and how it feels.” Running in tandem with their clothing line, the founders recently launched the Peace & Quiet app, a library of relaxing nature sounds. The app expands the family-run label’s ethos of mindful living and welcomes an environment of stillness and serenity. “We created that app out of wanting something simple to give our customers,” Lennon says. “Something where they didn’t need to be on social media to see the brand.”
With less than a minute of cracking waves and dancing windchimes, you’re transported to a world outside of your own. Together, the Lennons’ leisurewear and digital offerings form the foundation for an experience true to the brand’s name, a museum of peace and quiet.
Total Luxury Spa
Daniel DeSure launched Total Luxury Spa in 2014 as a sister studio to his main venture, Commonwealth Projects, with the goal of creating a more equitable future through design and strategy. It all began with weekly meditation sessions for their Los Angeles community to join and quickly moved into the artistic realm. Alongside Hassan Rahim and their group of collaborators, DeSure began producing books and zines to give a voice to emerging artists until they discovered the power that an idea on a shirt could hold. “We saw what was happening in the community around us and at the same time were in rooms with big commercial clients,” DeSure explains. “We designed a single shirt and the attention it got made us think about what conversations we feel aren't being had, and how this shirt can become the vessel.”
Today, Total Luxury Spa is an L.A.-based streetwear brand and wellness center committed to strengthening and uplifting the well-being of their community. “Health and wellness is always at the center of anything we do,” DeSure says. “We're constantly reimagining ways to have conversations around it, use resources to support those that need more of it, and think about ways to create a more level playing field when it comes to people and the environment.”
Naturally, DeSure and Rahim raise this awareness and promote wellness through their graphic and spiritual designs. Of their most recent launch is the Equilibrium Float Club collection of streetwear essentials—hoodies, tees, and oversized bags––featuring slogans like “Balance in Self, Balance in Universe,” and “Become One With Nature.” Much like a spa, the brand defines equilibrium as “a space of peace and relaxation” and invites us to seek the balance within.
The Local Love Club
Wardrobe stylist Maeve Reilly is a newcomer to the world of athleisure. Favored for her effortlessly chic styling, Reilly has paved the way for a new generation of stars to own the streets, including Hailey Bieber, Megan Fox, and the D’Amelio sisters, to name a few. While Reilly continues to grow her star-studded roster of clients, her next move is all about giving back with the launch of her new line, The Local Love Club.
Reilly decided to take her memories of being bullied and turn them into something positive. Her collection of graphic sweats aims to provide a source of light in the darkness by spreading positivity. “The Local Love Club is all about spreading love and kindness,” Reilly explains. “It’s this idea that everyone is invited, everyone can be a part of the community. We live in a world defined by this ‘you can’t sit with us’ culture. Where I sit today, I’ve learned that you can be strong and kind, and that there is enough room at the table for everyone.”
Take one scroll through the label’s Instagram account and the message is quite clear. Self-love affirmations and uplifting quotes serve as reminders to readers to invest in love for themselves and others. Similar messaging carries through The Local Love Club’s first collection of screen-printed hoodies. They’re adorned with exploded hearts that read, “I hope you know how loved you are” and matching sweatpants branded with the label’s logo. With a portion of the proceeds for each purchase donated to the Kind Campaign, a nonprofit organization that brings awareness and healing to the negative and lasting effects of bullying in school, Reilly is putting her money where her mouth is. “It’s really important for me to stand behind people actually doing the work,” Reilly says. “The Kind Campaign creates curriculums to figure out how to heal what is going on in the minds of these girls. I wish this was available when I was younger.”
