Running’s big fashion opportunity

The explosive rise of run clubs has made fashionable clothing and community engagement a key area of focus for brands.

If you’ve recently started running, the hardest part may have been deciding what kit to buy. Options for running apparel are so plentiful that a cottage industry of online directories, Instagram mood boards and sub-Reddits have sprung up to help would-be joggers and marathoners make sense of it all. Performance sneakers boasting carbon plates (a technical innovation in the shoe’s mid-sole designed to help energy return to the runner) or lightweight materials now come with sneakerhead-coded collaborations and colorways that sell out online. Boutiques, including Distance in Paris and Renegade in Oakland, California target fashion-conscious runners. Even Brooks, a brand traditionally focused on performance, recently announced it would launch its first lifestyle sneaker in March with the streetwear and sneaker collaboration pioneer Jeff Staple. Fashion’s incursion into the running world comes as the sport’s popularity is surging. A record number of people participated in marathons last year. Participation in running clubs shot up 59% globally in 2024, according to the fitness app Strava. In major cities such as New York, the growth of run clubs have been fueled by urbanites looking for matchmaking opportunities beyond dating apps or IRL relationships outside of social media. The viral rise of run clubs, which exist for casual and professional runners alike, have helped turn running into a social activity where personal style is a bigger factor. “Running is not just about participating in the race, but about how you live your life every day,” said Gabriele Casaccia, the creative director and founder of Mental Athletic, a new bi-annual print magazine centered on contemporary running culture that looks more akin to Dazed than Runner’s World. From performance-meets-fashion labels such as Satisfy, District Vision and Soar, all founded in the 2010s, to decades-old sportswear brands like Asics and Saucony, both of which made online sneaker marketplace StockX’s list of top-five fastest growing brands in 2024, the race is on to win new customers that sit at the intersection between lifestyle and the sport, while remaining authentic to their unique perspective and the customers that they serve.