Live The Process (Q5042)

There is no wellness without mindfulness. Being mindful, slowing down, and taking stock are crucial when talking about living a healthy life, even if many (too many) brands try to tell you all it takes is buying pilates classes and celery juice. If the idea of wellness is defined by a sense of calm and a more thoughtful, gentler approach to life, then why is the business of wellness about quick and constant growth? It seems like there’s a new wellness-branded fitness or leisure label popping up every month, maybe every week. Entrepreneurs are jumping on the zen bandwagon, and the wagon is moving at hyper-speed.Robyn Berkley, on the other hand, has been at this whole wellness thing for quite some time. After leaving behind a career in fashion public relations, she spent time in Bali getting certified as a yoga trainer. When she came home, she founded her own PR firm and shortly thereafter, with partner Jared Vere, decided to create a line of workout apparel called Live The Process. This was in 2013. Today, after nearly five years honing her collection, Berkley now has a diverse range of knits and activewear stocked at stores like Barneys and Bon Marché, as well as e-commerce giants like Ssense and Net-A-Porter.Live The Process’s Resort collection, says Berkley, is “not just a collection but an idealist way of how to live your life in the best way possible.” Berkley’s point is that we should choose to wear garments that are good for us and for the environment, and her softly toned, earth-colored collection is just that. She’s designed her body-hugging flared skirts, sharp tank dresses, and ballet-inspired wrap sweaters and tops using sustainable knits and fibers, some of which are made from recycled plastic bottles, and others with Refibra, a fiber which reduces the need to extract raw materials and decreases the impact on natural resources. From an aesthetic point-of-view, Berkley’s offering also extends beyond the walls of the local yoga studio and Juice Press: the cardigans, tie-back tops, and turtleneck dresses are lovely for everyday wear.There are desirable pieces here, both for the active person and those who just want comfortable clothes to wear to the office, to dinner, to wherever. But Berkley may have some challenges where competition is concerned, now that many activewear brands are pegging themselves as proper ready-to-wear. Wellness is now an all-encompassing lifestyle and business model.