Staud Debuts First Activewear Collection With New Balance

Sarah Staudinger, the designer behind the cult label Staud, is dipping her toe into activewear for the first time, teaming up with New Balance for her debut collection. The Staud x New Balance collaboration includes a colorful take on the New Balance 997 sneaker, as well as track pants, running shorts, leggings, bra tops, jackets, and bags.

"Functionality and versatility were key, but not at the expense of style," Staudinger told Vogue.

Staudinger looked to old photos of Princess Diana in activewear and a 1978 photo of Susan Sarandon wearing New Balance sneakers in Cannes, which she said "represents the essence of the collaboration, which is built on ideas of femininity, coolness, and timelessness."

"Working with a heritage company that has been around since 1906 felt like a perfect collaboration," she said. "There is something so quintessentially New England about New Balance. We hope that we can infuse some of our West Coast, Californian attitude to their lineup."

The new collab will be available to shop on Staud and New Balance sites beginning May 14, with prices for the clothing ranging from $60 to $180. The sneaker runs for $230 and will be available for pre-order, but will ship in August.

"We were immediately impressed by Staud's innovations and product lines, and had already been exploring fashion designers to work with so it ended up being a great fit," said Kimball Netto, General Manager of Women’s Performance Apparel at New Balance. "We love the design aesthetic of Staud and the fact the brand was co-founded by a young, fresh, female designer with a strong point-of-view. We approached the brand and connected over a shared love of looking at the past for inspiration. From that first meeting our ideas and vision gelled, and we are excited to finally launch the collection."

Check out photos from the colorful, summer-friendly Staud x New Balance campaign, below.