With nearly everyone in the sporting world tapping into the luxury world for collaborations, and elevating the sporting lifestyle to a new level, Reebok is fast to follow suit and has stepped up to the game with Giorgio Armani, launching a collaborative apparel collection, EA7/Reebok, and a Emporio Armani/Reebok footwear collection.
While luxury collaborations are not new in the industry, Reebok and Giorgio Armani, have a different approach from other collaborations such as Puma and Hussein Chalayan, Sergio Rossi and Alexander McQueen, or adidas Originals and Jeremy Scott, since the Puma and adidas Originals are geared towards lifestyle and Reebok is heading for more of a functional, fitness route. Sure, there is Stella McCartney and adidas, but Reebok and Giorgio Armani will be offering its activewear collection for both men and women.
The collaborative collection will feature both apparel and footwear, and for men, it will be a mix of fitted tank tops, long-sleeve technical tops, running shorts and hoods; for the ladies, there will be harem patns with matching hooded tops, slim-fit fitness pants, running tanks, t-shirts, tights, tunic dresses and more. As for footwear, the co-branded Emporio Armani/Reebok line will offer kicks ranging from dress sneakers to retro court and vintage running models. The capsule collection will include 40 apparel pieces and 15 footwear styles for each gender initially, and the collection is expected to increase in the future.
As Reebok president and chief executive officer Uli Becker described, the collection is a “convergence of fashion and sports”, and it allows Armani to get “sports credentials” while Reebok will get “style credentials”.
The collection is set to hit select stores and gym worldwide in July, so fitness buffs now can hit the treadmill in style. Armani style. And no suiting-up is necessary.