fellas, listen: fall running round-up + some predictions
my qualifications are.. i buy clothes and i started wearing half tights in 2015
UVU - our first season as uvu fans where at any point, seemingly we can log on to their site and purchase. a true milestone for the brand who has for essentially almost 20 releases leaned in to a “drop” type release schedule. As they approach new collections it will be interesting to see if they continue this method for releases or just keep the website as is. nonetheless, it appears there are plenty of new items on the schedule for this London based outfit, including slides, multiple long-sleeve shirts as well as new tights design and a very anticipated Berlin marathon collection. It really feels like this brand cannot miss right now and yet, to the “they missed” crowed, i’d imagine like most things with this brand from the beginning, there is a contingent of just not quite there yet with understanding the direction. given uvu has been mainly performance based since launch, its easy to see their influence on the rest of the running scene already. big fan of them already and can guess a lot more to be excited about that we haven’t seen.
Miler Running - one thing i will always expect from Miler, or shall i say come to love about Miler is the feeling that they just do what they want for their friends. I remember the lead singer of a band i like once said “i just design our bands merch for my friends and if others like it, cool.” - to me, that’s such an amazing place to start or exist in.. granted i dont know if that’s true but having met Ben a few times, you can see a lot of what he loves he how he creates for this nyc based brand. and their latest collections are further proof of this. the dirt collection, followed up by the contrast stitch edit, essentially an updated approach to an already existing line.. something you will find with Miler as they grow is you can tell they believe in what they release rather than being a brand who releases 1 of everything hoping people find something.. Miler has existed longer than ive been aware of them but since knowing them, i really don’t think they’ve had a bad release. and my payment interested with them would prove i really mean that.
3sixteen - a couple days ago, i sent andrew a voice note about a pair of shorts he had sent me and how i took them to france for a short trip and found myself reaching for them as fast as i could before getting dressed each day. and now.. having returned from the trip, i want to do everything in them from get coffee to working out. on their site, they clearly say “First and foremost, we’re a denim company.” and then when you talk to andrew he also seems to take the approach of “we’re just making things we like” - (not a real quote) but you get the idea.. their first run of athletic pieces also saw a trail shirt that i am just itching to become a daily staple in my fall/colder weather running rotation.. they’ve since launched more pieces and just released a new collection with training cut offs.. lately, i find myself wanting to wear like 5 brands or at least feel like i dont know every brand out there, rather i just enjoy a handful of brands consistently.. and 3sixteen is very much on that list these days.
District Vision - Right before posting this, DV was the last brand i wrote up and before doing so i checked to see if they had any updates since the start of this piece and outside of their most recent collaboration with 2xu it appears all we have been gifted from this brand for fall/winter is a new run of shades, which.. is never a bad thing. in fact it feels on par for district.. a brand that sort of historically has never really followed the “rules” of release schedules but if you look on their ig it does appear as if they have hinted at or released it for women and there seems to be a few pieces for men dripped in there but nothing extensive.. not mad at that.. but given that they did for their womens collection, i am excited for what they have coming for the mens side. district vision will forever be a brand i love and strive to collect as many pieces as possible for.. ill always love their shades so maybe we’ll start there again this fall.
Skull House Running - i’m not exactly sure what range or release schedule this Atlanta based outfit is on but given that its still early days for this brand, its easy to understand a “slower” roll out of new pieces but that should only make you want to tap in with them more. They lean in to the punk of running and are clearly doing their own thing. One thing this brand makes me feel is that sort of nostalgic horror film motif, almost like early my chemical romance era approach to visuals. as the running scene seems to be catering to even more niche communities than ever before, it feels like its only a matter of a release or two before this brand becomes one you see at every marathon going forward, both stateside and abroad.. they’re one to watch for sure.
Minted New York - While at the time of posting this article, the NYC outfit has yet to launch anything officially for fall/winter, they have teased a few items included their long awaited Saucony running shoe as well as some new apparel including. pre-layered tees, a new running coat for the rain as well as a biker cap, tights and a collection of socks perhaps to launch with their running shoe but regardless of the why, i think their community will buy every single pair of socks as soon as they are available. Exciting times ahead for the brand for sure as they lean in to their stealth collection, which from things posted by Marcus across the web the idea of “stealth” looks to be their muse for the upcoming collection.. “fast” is what i believe they really are going for and all signs point to them being able to achieve this.
hat by satisfy, shades by research studio, tee by salomon, layer tee by idk.. tights by uvu, socks by sweetfeet, shoes by new balance x dv.. basically just another year of dressing like a skateboarder who also runs.
ok some predictions:
nike still has a fall marathon race day shoe in their bag and we will see it shortly.
asics will release a collaboration shoe with their brand partners in the running space. a little surprising it hasn’t happened already given the often collaborative nature of asics with likes of jjjjound and other retailers but its coming. after the paris colorway, it feels like the obvious next step for asics as they continue to find more of the pie that is the running shoe world.
district vision and new balance have to have another shoe collaboration in them and i think we get it before winter ends. maybe its trail but i see another collection coming. a majority of their most recent collection is sold out in both apparel and shoes.
lululemon will continue to really drive in that they are a running brand, but they have to find a collaboration with someone/or brand in the running culture to move them ahead. years ago like 2021 they did this running campaign, and while i cant find the larger video, this is from that same set, and it featured a runner, wearing district vision at the time. while to my understanding, this was not a collaboration, it did feel like a massive miss for lululemon. and i think it goes bigger than just sponsoring a run club.. they have to get a sort of cult like following brand in running to push them further. you see AG1 leaning in to these with them and whoop but lululemon really needs this more than anyone..
the “small” brand will continue to win and only become more and more present. in nyc you have a brand like sweetfeet and they are doing the groundwork to get their socks and hats on everyone and you can see it paying off. hello diplo collaboration.. i think in running, people worry less about how big your brand is but rather how connected they feel to it.. and to the people behind it. more brands like this will thrive in the coming years.
the amount of run clubs in cities will double in the next year but attendance in size will flatline.. what this means is you will see much smaller clubs more often. peoples lives change, people want new things, people want their own things.. and the idea of a run club feeling more like a small group of friends will become the new thing.. much like skate teams in the 90s.. yes, everyone could go to to the park at the same time, but small groups took the trips together.. the running retreat camps will become more and more of a thing, thus slowing down the size of clubs attendance week in/out… fwiw.. i dont think clubs will go away.. i just thing they will get smaller, thus being more impactful.
southbound 400 will become one of the most in demand relay races next year.
the tennis aesthetic will find its way in to running. as a note, in 2020 i was a running ambassador for lululemon and for my photo shoot, they told me to pick out an all black outfit.. and so i picked out a polo and their team said “no one would ever run in a polo..” a few months later someone on their team said they were working on a running polo… i dont see it on the site to this day but.. i just really believe tennis will trickle in to running.. as a note tracksmith has had a polo for like 4 years..
ok, thats all.. at the end of the day, literally nothing i say matters and these are just takes and opinions.. hope you find something you like.
me in 2021 for lululemon… been there, done that.
thanks for readind.
carl. x.
in the first pic*
Are those all black shoes in the pic FuelCells?