Athleisure has swept the country and the world, in the past few years, but the current pandemic has further increased the popularity of the trend.
Since we’re all working and working out from home while adhering to social distancing guidelines, the look du jour is either sweats or the more “dressed up” alternative: activewear. Yet, it’s not as simple as putting on any old pair of leggings for a grocery run and an outdoor happy hour or a virtual workout class with your friends—we still want to look and feel our best in our new daily uniform. One brand is here to deliver both. Ultracor meets and exceeds expectations when it comes to both design and fit, all while being sustainable. Need we say more?
The company is run by husband and wife duo, Asha Kai and Michael Ball—with Asha acting as both Founder and CEO, and Michael helping with the technical side of the business. While Ultracor’s array of prints, colors, and textures makes the products stand out, it’s the company’s operations that have allowed it to scale while consistently delivering the highest quality of activewear on the market.
What’s the secret? Everything is made in-house, to order—from design sketches to the apparel itself—in Hawthorne, CA. This model not only allows Ultracor to be as agile as the customers who wear the brand when it comes to new styles, partnerships, and original prints, but it also means that there is never over-production or waste.
Besides being an industry-leader in terms of sustainability—a major concern for fashion brands—Ultracor is also ahead of the game when it comes to technology. It brought in tech-fashion trends that were previously used for sneakers (like Nike or Adidas) and applied them to athleisure. From digital printing to ensure colors pop, to the use of bonding technology to create seamless integration, it’s safe to say that this is the future of premium activewear.
When asked to describe the Ultracor girl, Asha explains that she’s “the fashionista who also cares about wellness—the girl interested in looking and feeling good.”
With an impressive arsenal of products that include leggings, sports bras, hoodies, and even swimwear, the brand can be worn everywhere; to the store, while running errands, and of course, while actually exercising, because as Michael notes “we’re a performance-product first—our pieces hold up during the most rigorous workouts.”
The universal appeal is in large due to Ultracor’s mix between luxurious femininity and edginess—it has a perfectly balanced aesthetic of feminine-meets-masculine, which allows the pieces to be dressed up or down depending on the occasion.
Given everyone’s affinity for a good legging, that’s the brand’s best seller. “Our knockout leggings with stars bonded to them were one of our first styles, but they’re still a bestseller,” Asha says, while noting that they’re constantly updating the viral design with new colors, details, materials, and even the luxe addition of Swarovski crystals.
While the brand has garnered a cult-like following organically, it remains one of luxury athleisure’s best kept secrets. It seems that all it takes to be sold on Ultracor is to try on their best-selling leggings and see how the fit transforms the female form—hugging and lifting in all the right places, without riding up or scrunching like so many others do.
Besides the look, the fact that the company cares about the whole picture of the business, beyond just sales, is inspiring. “It’s about being responsible, sustainable, and finding new and efficient ways to produce products in the U.S.,” Michael explains.
With both style and ethics covered, the only thing left to do is to get on-board with Ultracor’s innovative, tech-forward philosophy.
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