Hi there, so nice to connect with you, as you know I’m a huge fan of your brand…so tell me.
What’s in a name? Who came up (no pun intended) with UP.?
- was born out of a feeling; a concern I had about where we are as humans and the world we have created for our children, and what it will be like in 10 years’ time.
- is a positive word and, to me, it signifies the need to do better; to be nicer to one another, to turn our backs on hate and discrimination, to move away from fast fashion and to love our planet and treat it better. Universally, we need to perform better, hence Universal Performance, or UP. for short (with a full stop, as it’s a statement).
What does a typical day in the life of UP. look like?
One of the many things I love about what I do is how very varied it can be. Recently, we were the main sponsors at Soul Circus, the yoga and wellness festival, where a typical day involved waking up in a bell tent in the middle of a field, putting on my UP. clothing, meeting lots of fabulous people and spending the day dancing and doing yoga. It was such a vibe and truly humbling to get honest feedback from people about the brand and our products!
More typically, my day will look something like this:
- Wake up, have breakfast, then take my dog, Monty (a large Goldendoodle) for a walk. This provides me with head space and time to help out in order what I need to do that day. It’s like therapy to me
- Get to my desk (sometimes at home, sometimes in the office)
- Calls to discuss latest styles and range items
- Video call with the factory in Portugal, including speaking to the people who make the products – I love having such a great rapport with them
- Down to London for an essential marketing meeting. I try to do as much as I can remotely, but sometimes you need to be there, in person
- Back home and out for a run (if I have time)
- Dinner with my wife and children
- Look over sketches and designs into the evening
What is your favourite piece/collection from your range?
One of the newest pieces I am proudest of is our Tencel cropped sweater. It’s a world-first garment which contains pioneering odour and bacteria-eliminating technology and is made from organic cotton and TENCEL™ Lyocell fibres of botanic origin, made from renewable wood sources.
It’s part of UP.’s first organic cotton hybrid collection with all-natural ‘superpower technology’, featuring eco-friendly solution Stayfresh™ which eliminates the bacteria and odours formed naturally from a body’s sweat. This you’ll find in nearly all UP. garments, which means you can wear them more and wash them less, which is ultimately better for the environment. You can also recycle our clothes.
The cropped sweater is also super soft, durable, ethically-made and sustainable, with thumb holes – the kind of attention to detail which I think distinguishes UP. from other brands.
Fabrics made with TENCEL™ fibres are breathable and naturally smooth to the touch. They are made from sustainable wood sources and produced using environmentally responsible processes, TENCEL™ Lyocell fibres are versatile and can be combined with a wide range of textile fibres to enhance the properties of fabrics.
Your mission statement is admirable & is one of the reasons your brand resonates with me, can you talk me through your values & belief systems for UP.?
UP. was born from a passionate belief that performance wear should do good everywhere. From empowering our bodies, minds and souls to giving us confidence in our homes, parks and gyms. From supporting traditional skills in communities around the world to safeguarding nature and its resources.
In a world of fast fashion, over-production and flash sales, our planet is the big loser. Which is why we do things differently. We play fair.
- Smarter clothing
Our clothing features innovative technology that’s better for the environment. Eco-friendly anti-odour technology permanently breaks down bacteria molecules on contact to reduce odour. While drirelease® works by pushing perspiration and body odour out of the fabric and into the air, keeping your clothes fresh, dry and ready to be worn on your next workout.
- Sustainable packaging
How we package our clothing is just as important as how we make it. Our protective bag is fully recycled, while our outer packaging is made from eco-friendly, carbon-neutral sugar cane – the greenest material on earth.
- Upcycled fabrics
We encourage all customers to UPcycle by sending us your old UP. performance clothing to turn into new fabrics.
Some of our clothes are also made with ‘deadstock’. This is fabric that other companies don’t want, perhaps because they have produced too much. Deadstock is a huge issue for all factories worldwide and a terrific waste of energy, so we thought let’s do good and use this beautifully-crafted fabric ourselves!
- Think small
‘Big sales’ might appear good value, but they come at the expense of our planet. Overproduction leads to overconsumption and contributes to our throw-away world.
- Made by fair hands
All our clothing is made by hand, by traditional craftspeople in Portugal. We stand against slavery and exploitative working practices.
Who would be your ideal UP. muse?
- is about empowering real people to feel good. Someone who gets this and is passionate about UP. (and whom we love working with) is content creator Annaliese Dayes, who encourages women to have fun with fashion. She keeps it real and lives life to the full, which is what we are all about. She recently hosted our ‘Style It UP. Fashion Show’ at Soul Circus. I couldn’t imagine working with a better muse than Annaliese, to be honest.
Why is it so important to ‘play fair’ in a world of fast fashion?
We are on a collision course with mother nature. We’ll never support fast fashion or flash sales because we don’t want to see our clothing in landfill. All of our clothing is made in smaller batches to help protect the world’s resources.
Staying true to our values means always providing great value performance clothing you’ll want to own and wear. And remember; nothing will ever change if we all do the same.
I believe, as a Stylist, that how you look & feel is important whether at work or play & it can be very exposing for women to wear workout gear if they’re not in a good place so I love how life affirming your ethos is…is this your intention?
We’re a team. We share a passion for getting active, staying fit, feeling and doing good. Our clothing generally comes in sizes from XS to XXXL and thought has gone into every single item about how to make it more comfortable for every body type and empower women to feel their very best.
Take, for instance, our Women’s Zip Front Active Sports Bra – designed for women with a fuller bust, who want to exercise while also feeling secure and supported.
We listened to women and understand the difficulties of finding a sports bra for the bigger bust, which is why we’ve created this garment with easy on-and-off access and no-fuss zip front design, including removable inner pads and an inner fastener G hook.
Our designs are mostly classic, not really ‘on trend,’ but our colours reflect the season’s colour palette. We like to think we think of everything and are always listening.