drag

Interview: Kate Anderson of FK FIT

#fitspo

Gone are the days when gym attire comprised of plain black leggings, scuffed runners and a baggy t-shirt you acquired (read: nicked) from your dad. Today, we want to sweat in style. In keeping with this trend, designers have branched out into colourful, fashionable activewear that blurs the line between sport and daywear. Australian trendsetting label Finders Keepers has jumped on this trend fiercely. They’ve just launched their debut line of activewear, FK FIT, that includes leggings, sports bras, shorts and singlets in some amazing prints, with more to come. We chatted to head designer and avid fitness gal Kate Anderson about this exciting new direction.

What was the inspiration for this new line?

It’s been on my mind for a while. With the whole boom in sport and fitness lately, I felt it was a good direction to move in. The normal range does have that sports luxe vibe about it and when we were looking for another branch for Finders Keepers, it felt like the perfect fit. I’m heavily into sport and fitness; it’s a passion of mine. You want to look good when you’re working out and you want to have fun with it, and I felt there was a real gap in the market, especially because our prints are so bright, colourful and fun. You want to be able to wear them when you’re working out and on the street during the day.

Why do you think this trend has been so popular?

A lot of brands are making the move to make brands a more of a lifestyle brand rather than just focusing on one direction. One, it broadens your market and customer base and two, for us, our customers are really loyal. For the Finders Keepers girl to be able to wear the label from morning to night is quite enticing. There’s definitely been huge growth in health and fitness; there was that massive push from the designers at New York Fashion Week and you saw it trickle down through there. It’s not only exercise wear but dressing more casually.
More generally, from where do you get inspiration as a designer? We work a little differently to everyone else, we don’t start with a theme. Our prints really help build our ranges, so we start by picking two or three different prints per month and then we build on fabrics. We plan our ranges right from the start as per what prints are going to suit what styles. The prints really are what we’re known for and act as the base for our ranges.

How would you describe the Australian aesthetic?

I feel like the Australian vibe is definitely more casual, and we like to have fun with our dressing; we don’t take fashion too seriously. I think

that definitely reflects the Finders Keepers girl as well, that’s what we’re all about; being on trend and having fun with dressing up, not taking huge risks but still being completely on trend.

It seems then like this trend of blurring the line between active and daywear is the perfect fit for Australians particularly.

Definitely. It’s so nice to be able to just wear sneakers and still feel like you’re being fashionable [laughs].

FK FIT can be purchased from www.fashionbunker.com.au and at their flagship store at 160 Rundle Mall, Adelaide

Lazy Loading