Following on from the highly publicised collaboration in 2017, 2XU and YEEZY have teamed up again to create another collection that delivers high performance and high fashion. One-third of Australasian brand 2XU, Jamie Hunt, talked to us about working with Kanye and being the best in their category.
Seen on Victoria Beckham, Pippa Middleton, Sofia Vergara, and Lara Worthington and worn by most NBA and champion athletes, 2XU has graced some of the world’s best bodies since its launch in 2005. “We are not a price-point driven brand,” says Hunt. “We’re here to give the athlete the best garment possible to enhance their performance – hence the name 2XU (Two-Times-You). LVMH are large investors. They see us as a leader in our field – we’re the only sporting goods brand they have invested in.”
As a professional athlete, Hunt knows what he’s talking about. His advice? “Find your niche and own your niche. Don’t go up against other brands. We’ve never lost our focus.”
While part of 2XU is based in Melbourne, Hunt is based in Auckland with his design team. “2XU is made up of two Kiwis and one Aussie – I call us an Australasian company,” Hunt laughs. “Even in Melbourne, one-third of the team are Kiwis.”
So what is it exactly about the 2XU compression garments that make them so successful? “Nobody on the planet has what we have in our lab in Melbourne,” said Hunt. “We started off thinking that compression gear was just a recovery tool. But, the more we researched it, we found out it helps you recover faster, helps stop muscle tears, helps promote healing for swollen muscles, stops muscles shaking, so you can run longer. NBA star LeBron James was cramping up massively during Game One of the Finals. He’d heard of us, so got in touch and we sent him (overnight) some 2XU compression garments. He went on to win the next four games straight and won MVP – no more cramps. There are so many areas that compression falls into – flying socks, diabetics, pregnant women, both pre- and postnatal, and the feedback has blown us away. The market has opened up and diverging from sportswear, but it is still our primary focus.”
2XU x Yeezy
“Everyday we have people going into our Newmarket store saying, “You’re the brand that’s mixed up with Kanye.” Hunt told us. So, how did the partnership begin? Back in 2017, Hunt and his team received a call that would open them up to a new audience: fashion.
“It was something we never went after, they approached us. Kanye saw our designs and loved the straight lines and sharp curves of our brand that follow the body’s anatomy. He loved the aesthetic – at that stage, it was more about the look than the technology. For the first collab (Yeezy Season 5), it was just our neoprene products and it was a very easy, low-key collab.”
The big question we had to ask, what is Kanye like to work with? “He’s great,” confirmed Hunt. “He’s so creative and into developing something unique. When I was talking to him about who we are as a brand and what makes us unique I paused… He told me he was really into it, to continue. He’s really involved.” When asked about Kim K-W‘s involvement, Hunt confirmed he had no dealings with her and her only connection is wearing the finished product.
On the Yeezy collab, Hunt says, “At the start of the process, we sat down with the whole team – including Kanye. We spent a full morning explaining our belief as a company, why we want to stay unique and next level, and we don’t want to do what everyone else does. They pulled out some garments off their racks and showed us some designs saying, “We want to do this and this” and some things I said “We can’t really add to these products. We only want to be involved if we can add an extra edge to your products – if we can improve the performance in some aspect, be it through performance, moisture management, comfort and durability.
“They send us through designs and the fashion aspect and we recommend fabrics that work, that turn it into a performance piece. I love the Yeezy team – they do things left-field. I think they are writing their own rulebook. It’s a great collaboration – their strengths teamed with our strengths. We’ve learned from them and they’re learned from us. It’s been a great experience.”
“We’ve created a line that includes neoprene, compression products, socks, outerwear products. There’s a neoprene collection that’s an all-day approach to beachwear – you can wear it on the beach then to the bar. There’s also a compression line that has the same attributes but less power than our sports line, think body-hugging compression leggings, tops and socks. It’s a real fusion of both our brands”.
So can we expect to see the collab drop in New Zealand?
“I’ve been told August, in time for summer and, yes, it looks like we’ll be selling some of the collab in our Newmarket store,” confirmed Hunt.
See you in the queue.
Main image: Kim Kardashian-West models garments from the Yeezy x 2XU collab in Japan.
