The wait is over. Ivy Park, Beyoncé’s fitness wear line for Topshop, has landed.
I popped into the Topshop store in Wigan this week and had a look at the collection for myself. Although not there in full, the range was great. Lots of styles; a simple colour scheme of black, white, grey and royal blue. The whole thing looks really well thought out, and it’s identifiable. If you went to the gym, you’d know if that girl you saw was wearing Ivy Park or not.
On Topshop’s website, we see Beyoncé in a promotional video training in the Ivy Park gear, and frankly, she looks as sensational as ever. The whole look is all about natural beauty, paired back makeup and hair, because who has time for anything else these days. Beyoncé inspires us to go back to our “park,” that place where we became ourselves, where we remember who we are.
The active wear, which Queen B has co-designed, combines styles suitable for sports training, as well as fashionable styles to suit all types of women. The “Core Kit” is the essentials of the collection. Defined as a “core collection of staples that will appear every season,” it consists of leggings, bra and tank tops, sweatshirts and technical jackets that are “designed to mix and match with the rest of the collection.”
The thing I love most about the whole collection is that there are three types of leggings, catering for shape differences in Topshop customers (finally, Topshop, finally!). There’s low-rise: designed to suit an athletic build; mid-rise: should suit the majority of body types; and high-rise: this style accentuates the waist and gives more support. This shows finally that we are starting to see a difference in attitude towards all body shapes.
All of these pieces look like they would be super easy to style, whether you’re off to the gym or just off to town or a lecture. I love the relaxed feel to the whole collection, despite being designed for physical exercise.
As British Vogue said, the collection “is enough to make anyone covet a gym subscription,” and Topshop agree. Women and girls will no doubt flock to the gym in the gear, and why shouldn’t they? The pieces flatter the body and accentuate the right parts, all while being suitable for getting a sweat on. The gym is perhaps the one place women in particular feel most embarrassed by their bodies, and start comparing themselves to all the other girls. It’s natural. But if what you wear to the gym suits your body, and flatters all your best bits, I’m sure you’ll stop comparing yourself and work harder to look your best on your own terms.
