New athleisure brand Qor (pronounced ‘core’) promises to offer men what Athleta and Lululemon offer women–high-performance garments you can wear from indoors to the outdoors. Founded by the ex-CEO of Athleta, Joe Teno, along with other top management from the brand, Qor brings high fashion to the world of function.
Heavy on the black, gray, and navy color palettes, Qor’s apparel definitely oozes urban–you will find no neon here. The fit is tailored but forgiving, so you won’t feel self-conscious walking through the office after arriving by bike commute or changing into your lunch run clothes.
The apparel uses high performance fabrics such as those from Schoeller, Polartec, and even merino wool. Some of the surf, paddle, and swim apparel almost reminds me of Kitsbow mountain bike apparel–it’s the same aesthetic.
To help you better understand which pieces work together and for what purpose, the company design activity specific kits. The lightweight run kit, for example, suggests shorts, pants, crew, vest, hat, hoodie jacket, socks and Salomon running shoes. The Active Commute kits suggests everything from baselayers, blazer, and pants, to sunglasses, shoulder bag, and a watch.
Qor’s current best-selling product is a blazer made from water- and wind-resistant Schoeller 3XDry fabric. Qor also features their version of jeans made from the same high-performance fabric. My neighbor, who tipped me off to the brand, bought a pair of the jeans for all his upcoming travels this summer. I would imagine any of the Qor gear would make fantastic travel items.
Qor apparel is priced anywhere from $39 to $500 and is available through the company website or catalog. Following the Athleta growth trajectory, you can expect Qor stores to pop up in select towns sometime in the future.