Active Evolution
• FRONT OF BOOK
Innovation is in full-effect in 2021 as apparel brands from around the active and
outdoor world dial up style, sustainability and performance for the year ahead.
By Suzanne Blecher and Cara Griffin
4 • January 2021 sportstyle • sportstylemag.com
Municipal's Creative Launch
Taking cues from the car industry and
sport utility vehicles, former Callaway
Golf exec Harry Arnett set out to create
"sport utility gear" brand Municipal in
October 2019. Like an SUV, garments
would be rugged and cool, yet also fitting
for a wide range of wearers (think less
techy, more versatile). While the idea
was still solid in COVID times – "we were
already positioned with apparel that
could be worn from home (on work
calls), but still look stylish," he said – the
April 2020 launch plan had some holes.
With USA factories shuttered, Arnett
(with co-founders Stephen Levinson and
actor Mark Wahlberg) decided "the best
approach was to embrace the fact that
we'd have to do a phased launch" with
an entirely different merchandising plan
since product was coming from the USA
and overseas in a piecemeal fashion.
The result was launching Fall 2020
styles – almost weekly – as they arrived,
creating a "wave of excitement for early
adopters," according to Arnett. As a
result, customers have latched on to the
functionality of the Sport Utility Hoodie
with a kangaroo pocket for valuables,
Ninja Lined Training Shorts with a pass
thru slot for easy phone accessibility and
the brand's best-selling cotton/Modal/
spandex blend Enduro Stretch T-Shirt.
