Get active in style for summer fitness

As the winter gloom sets in over England, Australians are hitting gyms, sculpting for summer.

Buzz comes to you this week from the streets of London, where winter­ has very much set in as Austral­ia contemplates its impen­ding sizzle. For some, an Aust­ralian summer often signals a renewed focus on fitness goals.

On that note, Buzz is uncharacteristically excited about activewear this week – specifically, two collaborations that should make those F45 sessions more fashionable if not enjoyable.

If any Australian designer was made for an activewear collaboration, it’s Dion Lee. Given his often streamlined silhouettes, technical prowess, modern fabric­ations and sexily sportif approach, it’s almost surprising that Lee hasn’t entered the fray before now, with a collaboration with US brand and etailer Carbon 38.

Lee tells Buzz the collaboration came about after he hosted a dinner­ at Soho House in Los Angeles­ a few years ago, where Carbon 38 founder Katie Warner was one of the guests. Turns out Warner was already a fan of Lee’s work. “We started talking about a collaboration that night and it evolved organically,” Lee says.

From the Dion Lee-Carbon 38 activewear collaboration.

“We started working on this collection about 18 months ago. I was interested in Carbon 38’s ­elevated position within the active­wear market and (its) established supply chain, focusing on product innovation.”

The resulting collection feat­ures many details recognisable in Lee’s main collections, including the laser-cut lattice-work, and strap detailing. As well as leggings and crop tops, bodysuits and track pants, there are a handful of cross-over pieces such as bodycon dresses, perforated skirts, cashmere knits and a wool biker jacket that will get their own workout beyond­ the Pilates studio.

“I designed the capsule collection wanting to adapt signature fabrications and techniques from my own brand and bring them to life in a functional activewear product,’’ he says. “The fit and functionality of the product was the most import­ant element, with several samples (needed) to refine the final design and extensive wear testing to ensure movement and comfort were the focus.”

Being a stickler for innov­ation, Lee was particularly excited about manufacturing techniques available to him via Carbon 38’s manufacturers, such as circular­ knitting and seamless, thermal bonded seaming. For the moment the collaboration is a one-off, available at carbon38.com and dionlee.com.

Dion Lee X Carbon 38 collection.

Now, Buzz has been known to fangirl from time to time over London-based­ designer Roksanda Ilincic, whose eye for bold and unusua­l colour combinations and often cocoon-like creations are akin to catnip. So, imagine our delight­ when, while speaking with Ilincic for an interview several months ago, she let slip that a collabor­ation with Lululemon was in the works.

Well, readers, the time has come, with the collection now in select stores and online at lulu­lemon.com.au.

“It’s a biggie,” Ilincic told Buzz at the time, and she’s not wrong. Not only is it with a leading activewear brand, but it’s also a broad collection that covers off the usual Lycra alongside more considered pieces such as a blouson-sleeved track top, and skirts and dresses with toggle details to throw over your workout wear after class, plus a sporty quilted bag for your gear.

“We wanted to merge the Roksanda­ world of occasion dressing into this athletic leisure wear, trying to make this incredible merger of contrasting and very ­different things. I imagined a wardrobe almost in 360 degrees – from commuting on the train to yoga class, everything.”

The colour palette is typically enticing, with two main colourways in this first drop, a navy, black and “sonic yellow” line, and a plum-based range that mixes with pink and mustard.

One of the standout pieces­ is the Infinity Coat, a multi-functional item that can be taken apart and worn in different ways from trench to puffa to vest – when worn together­ it looks like the most chic take on end-of-world dressing to prepare you for the most uncivilised of conditions. Frankly, given the current temperatures in London­ – both celsius and polit­ical – Buzz can see the appeal.

A Lululemon-Roksanda Ilincic collaboration design.

For visitors to the British capit­al in the coming months, Buzz can highly recommend two exhibitions on show at the V&A. Tim Walker: Wonderful Things (which runs through to March) is not merely an exhibition of fantastical photographs by the British fashion and portrait photographer, it was also an invitation to Walker to create new series of works based on pieces within the V&A’s existing collections. Many of his favourite models and muses feature within the resulting photographs, including Tilda Swinton (chan­nelling her distant relative, Edith Sitwell), Grace Jones (in a series inspired by a 16th-century stained-glass window) and Karen Elson in homage to museum curat­ors, inspired by an Alexander McQueen gown from the late designer’s Horn of Plenty collection of autumn/winter 2009.

Also on show is Mary Quant (until February), a look back at the groundbreaking British fashion agitator and originator of the miniskirt, which became a symbol of the country’s youthquake of the 1960s. Alongside the jersey minidresses and 70s maxidresses is some wonderful ephemera, including­ her Daisy dress-up dolls, make-up and accessories. There is also a brilliant news clip of a fashion show at Sydney hotspot Chequer­s from 1966, with models dancing to a live jazz ensemble. In lieu of London, you can find the clip under the heading “Unusual Fashion Show” at britishpathe.com – the voiceover is gold.