Meet the New Brand Making Edgy Gym Gear for Drapey Tee Lovers

If Rick Owens made workout clothes, they would probably look something like this.

Consumer demand for stylish athletic clothes might be high right now, but with so much product saturating the market—from industry giants and hip, direct-to-consumer types alike—new labels still have their work cut out for them. That said, there’s always room for an original point of view.

Max Shannon

Enter: STLR Aesthetics, a new, NYC-based athletic line that looks like what would happen if Rick Owens were to branch out into workout gear. In other words, it's an edgier breed of wicking tees and gym shorts. And while we’re all for bright colors and fitted cuts when it comes to gym clothes, we can think of a lot of folks who’ve been waiting for something like this to come along. Anyone who’s ever referred to himself as “health goth,” for one, and guys who are so ripped they make every shirt look like a compression shirt, for another.

STLR (pronounced Stellar—vowels are so two years ago) was started by Max Shannon and Dan Wood, two incredibly swole, heavily tattooed personal trainers from Rich Barretta Gym, a hardcore private training gym in the Flatiron district. “We were inspired to start this line because we were tired of all the fitness fashion that was in the market,” Shannon told us. “Everything is bright colors and logos. And the more stylish collections tend to lose sight of functionality.”

Dan Wood

STLR’s first collection consists of five black, logo-free pieces that can be layered up or worn alone. Shannon and Wood source nylon-elastane fabrics from Italy and manufacture the pieces in Hong Kong. The cuts are artfully draped and slightly oversize, making them believable as street clothes—albeit for the guy who always seems to be just leaving or on his way to the gym. And the prices hover right around $100. Pennies compared to Rick Owens's $575 silk-jersey tank top, for example, or even a private training package with Shannon or Wood. For a certain type of athletic-minded guy, it'll be a no-brainer.