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Fabletics is a unique force to be reckoned with in the chic activewear space, thanks to its membership model, ever-expanding retail presence, and ongoing celeb partnerships. As the brand toasts 10 years of proving that fitness and fashion are a winning combo, co-founder Ginger Ressler tells The Daily how it all started, how it’s expanded over the years, and what celebrations and special collabs are in store for the milestone birthday!
What first led you to create Fabletics with your husband, Don Ressler, and Adam Goldenberg?
Fabletics was born out of the desire to bridge “fun” with high-quality activewear products that are affordable, comfortable, and, ultimately, empower everyone to look and feel their best. Something that sets Fabletics apart is the versatility of our products. I can go from a workout to a school pickup, run errands, and go to a meeting—all while feeling confident in the same outfit. Everyone has busy lives, and we wanted to be the simple inclusive solution to provide products that take our members throughout their entire day. For me personally, when Fabletics was first created [in 2013], I wanted to do something that was specifically geared toward women who shared a similar lifestyle to my own. I’ve always been an athlete, and fitness has always been an important part of my life, on top of juggling my most important role as a busy mom. I wanted to infuse more fun into the everyday through fashion.
Fabletics
How does Fabletics today compare to what you initially envisioned or hoped the business would be at the 10-year mark?
Fabletics started as a women’s athleticwear brand. Over the course of 10-plus years, we knew it was important to expand our offerings and reach customers who wanted to be part of our community and wear Fabletics. Our expansion into new categories, like scrubs, men’s, lounge, sleep, “any-wear,” and swim, is rooted in a deep understanding of how we can engage with an entirely new customer that perhaps we didn’t appeal to before. This expansion has allowed Fabletics to become more than your average traditional activewear brand, which also sets us apart in the market.
How are you and the team at Fabletics celebrating the big anniversary?
Over the course of the past year, we’ve been busy! From launching my specially designed Luxe360 quarterly collections of elevated high fashion and high-performance pieces to our 10-year anniversary themed capsule, it was such an incredible way to begin the year! Our ongoing celebrity partners and collaborations, including Kevin Hart, the face of Fabletics Men, to the strong and beautiful Khloé Kardashian, and our first-ever celebrity partnership for Fabletics Scrubs with comedian Ken Jeong.
Ginger Ressler
How did you come up with the concept for the Luxe360 collection?
First launched in September 2023, Luxe360 is all about evoking a feeling of power and glamour. I’ve always been a fixture in Fabletics’ design process, and that experience has culminated in this special quarterly collection that’s truly my passion project. It’s been an incredible experience to elevate features in specific clothing that I love, and in turn, create a line that lands perfectly for women in search of day-to-night pieces. Designing a cohesive collection that tells a story and obsessing over every element is integral to Luxe360’s success.
Ginger Ressler
Talk us through the design process of this anniversary Luxe360 capsule collection.
Our anniversary-themed capsule is a special nod to some of the brand’s most legendary pieces of all time, with some special modern updates that take you through a decade of style. This was a particularly fun collection to create because it showed the power of some of our original designs and how they have managed to stand the test of time.
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How was it to revisit a decade of Fabletics designs while working on Luxe360. Is there an archive somewhere with pieces from the past 10 years?
It was so much fun! For the Luxe360 Archive Collection, which came out earlier this year to celebrate our 10-year anniversary, we redesigned pieces from our vault, creating an opportunity to offer reinforced, redesigned versions of some of our most beloved styles, like Fabletics’ most iconic sweatpant and hoodie, our Power Hold legging, and some archival prints. At the root of all Luxe360 collections, the designs are focused on being fashion-forward yet made to perform for your most active lifestyle.
What would you say is the secret sauce to Fabletics’ business growth and success?
We’re always evolving and looking for ways to bring more benefits to our members, whether that be opening a retail space in a new market or adding a new category to our increasingly versatile range of products. We pride ourselves on our past and remain steadfast in supporting and providing what our community wants in the future.
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What has propelled your numerous great celebrity collabs over the years?
Partnering with well-known public figures is part of Fabletics’ brand DNA. When we first launched Fabletics, we were one of the first athleticwear companies to partner with a celebrity figure—who wasn’t a professional athlete—to raise awareness of our inclusive product offerings. Today, we continue to collaborate with like-minded high-profile individuals, like Kevin Hart, Khloé Kardashian, and Vanessa Hudgens on special campaigns and product collaborations that our members want and love. More to come…stay tuned!
As Fabletics’ retail presence evolved, what role does brick-and-mortar play in the business model today, and in customers’ relationship to the brand?
Our retail footprint has also been a factor to our success. We now have more than 100 Fabletics stores across the U.S., Canada, Europe, and the U.K. We invite our members to “step into” our brand, experience in-store events, and try our products firsthand at these locations. Along with our technology advances and nourishing our longtime partner relationships, our future continues to look strong and successful. Our Scrubs collection, which has been in high demand, is now available in nearly 70 Fabletics retail stores across the U.S. And in April, we launched a 13-piece Scrubs collection in the U.K. market for online purchase.
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More broadly, what’s changed in the activewear and athleisure space? How has the market become more saturated, and what surprises or excites you about the space today?
People have more choices than ever on where, how, and what they buy. When you’re one of many, I think it’s important to have multiple differentiators that help set you apart from the crowd. There are many reasons why we have a loyal member base; we’re the largest digitally native activewear brand in the marketplace, and our unique, flexible, and innovative VIP membership model allows us to build a deeper relationship with our core consumer. And, most importantly, it’s always been our mission to create fashionable, high-performance active lifestyle products that are accessible—made for every body shape—at an attainable price point.
What do you hope the next decade holds for Fabletics?
Our focus is steadfast on continuing to do what we do best—create premium products that our loyal members continue to love. Whether that’s launching new collabs with celebrity partners, delving into new categories like Swim, and continuing to expand our retail presence, we always strive to push boundaries. At the heart of Fabletics, we want to continue developing the best products and ensure our members look and feel good.
All images: Courtesy of Fabletics
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