Tracksmith is interesting to me because of how it has managed to take inspiration from history —to embody the aesthetics of a heritage brand— while simultaneously being completely forward-looking and modern. I’ve seen a lot of brands try to do this and it almost never feels right. Tracksmith took the good parts of archival running and modernized it to create an inclusive, fun, New England-centric brand that seems to know itself (and its customer) very well.
I love Tracksmith- it’s a perfect brand for me. I used to run 80-90 miles per week, I still run as much as my body allows.
My issue is that I can’t justify spending such a large amount on the clothes I will actually run in. I don’t care what kind of merino you use or how high-tech the synthetics are, after weeks of long runs the fabric is going to stink and wear out. I can justify buying their casual clothing because it’s beautiful (though they need more items in XS, runners tend to be scrawny). I have a few pieces of their running clothing, it’s just harder to justify when I know that no matter the care I take it’s going to wear out.
Great and incredibly interesting interview- thanks!
Tracksmith, at least to me, seems to occupy an underserved portion of the running community. Running apparel, for as long as I can remember, tends to be black with logos, highlighter colors with logos, or commemorative shirts with enough logos to qualify for NASCAR. Tracksmith makes a product that I don't feel absurd wearing, that can also meet the technical demands of the activity.
Something I worry about with companies like Tracksmith is where do they go from here? I know this is something that you and Matt talked about in the podcast. Over the last decade I've seen DTC companies like Tracksmith, Relwen, and Western Rise pop up to make quality niche apparel. I'm old enough to remember when Vineyard Vines was barnstorming colleges to get word of mouth out, and I was at the opening of the RL Rugby store in Georgetown. How do the modern crop of niche companies avoid the fate of becoming bloated monsters like VV (no offense to VV) or worse collapsing like Rugby? Is there a middle ground? Southern Proper has been chugging along since 2005, but I don't see their apparel outside of the South.
I love Tracksmith- it’s a perfect brand for me. I used to run 80-90 miles per week, I still run as much as my body allows.
My issue is that I can’t justify spending such a large amount on the clothes I will actually run in. I don’t care what kind of merino you use or how high-tech the synthetics are, after weeks of long runs the fabric is going to stink and wear out. I can justify buying their casual clothing because it’s beautiful (though they need more items in XS, runners tend to be scrawny). I have a few pieces of their running clothing, it’s just harder to justify when I know that no matter the care I take it’s going to wear out.
Great and incredibly interesting interview- thanks!
Tracksmith, at least to me, seems to occupy an underserved portion of the running community. Running apparel, for as long as I can remember, tends to be black with logos, highlighter colors with logos, or commemorative shirts with enough logos to qualify for NASCAR. Tracksmith makes a product that I don't feel absurd wearing, that can also meet the technical demands of the activity.
Something I worry about with companies like Tracksmith is where do they go from here? I know this is something that you and Matt talked about in the podcast. Over the last decade I've seen DTC companies like Tracksmith, Relwen, and Western Rise pop up to make quality niche apparel. I'm old enough to remember when Vineyard Vines was barnstorming colleges to get word of mouth out, and I was at the opening of the RL Rugby store in Georgetown. How do the modern crop of niche companies avoid the fate of becoming bloated monsters like VV (no offense to VV) or worse collapsing like Rugby? Is there a middle ground? Southern Proper has been chugging along since 2005, but I don't see their apparel outside of the South.