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SMAGAZINEOFFICIAL.COM FASHION
On Your Mark
Meet the minds behind Literary Sport, the
minimalist counterpoint to mainstream activewear.
By Sumiko Wilson
I n a good week, Jackie McKeown logs six runs per week, but as both
creative and design director for the newly launched activewear brand
Literary Sport, she’s been understandably swamped.
At the onset of New York Fashion Week in September, Literary Sport
made its debut with a preview at the Jacqueline Sullivan Gallery. Invitees
entered the gallery to behold a tonal selection of merino half-zips, French-
milled sports bras, and Japanese cotton-terry hoodies, all set before a sheer
rosy veil.
The Lower Manhattan gallery was also the backdrop for the brand’s first
lookbook. In one image, a woman wearing their utilitarian Louise Jacket
and a pair of flip-flops sits sprawled in a Gaetano Pesce Queen of Nobody
chair. In another, the same model is perched on a Beatrice Bonino stool,
pairing their Li Shorts and Anne Long Sleeve Crew with black pumps.
Their lookbook presents running shots alongside moments of stillness,
celebrating the body as a multi-faceted oeuvre.
Literary Sport is an ode to movement itself. With the active impetus of
Alo and the refined elegance of The Row, the brand offers an elevated
alternative to exercise apparel. As a veteran stylist, McKeown sought to
achieve this by imbuing the line with a ready-to-wear sensibility. “A lot of
women’s running wear is quite fitted or the cuts are really feminine,” she
explains. Without any running apparel that she liked, she usually opted for
menswear instead, but the fit was never quite right. “I think it’s just finding
those elements that you love in your day-to-day wardrobe and bringing
them into your [workout] apparel.”
McKeown and her partner Fran Miller were recruited as co-creative
directors by founders M. Bechara and Deirdre Matthews, who first
discussed creating the line in 2021.
Both avid runners, Matthews and Bechara often discussed running
gear (they met when their children attended the same preschool), but
found that much of what was on the market didn’t reflect their taste. “I
wanted something that was clean and sophisticated, that could fit into my
wardrobe—or that kind of somewhat looked like my wardrobe,” Matthews
says. “That just wasn’t out there for me.” With her background in wholesale
distribution and Bechara’s manufacturing expertise, branching out on their
own was an obvious choice. Today, they work out of a studio in Toronto’s
Junction neighbourhood.
The ultimate challenge was using performance fabrics to create garments
with a distinct fluidity. “We wanted to use fabric that looked and felt like it
had movement,” Matthews says. As a result, she and McKeown spent a lot
of time studying textiles. “Everything comes from Italy and Japan, in very
small mills. It also really lends to the way the clothing looks,” she adds. “It
feels very considered because it has been very considered—that’s something
that we really labour over.”
There has always been a faction of fashion enthusiasts who believe that a
penchant for activewear implies a lack of effort—famously, Karl Lagerfeld
compared purchasing sweatpants to admitting defeat. The tides have long
shifted, but the white space in workout apparel is evident. For McKeown,
creating activewear with a polished aesthetic began with paring things
down. “I think it’s just stripping away anything unnecessary,” she explains.
“We’re not trying to compete with really intense running apparel or
marathon wear. It’s just things that feel absolutely necessary and not adding
any pockets or flair that doesn’t need to be there,” McKeown continues.
“It’s just about having it feel like it’s exactly what it needs to be and
nothing else.”