BTS: Gym King Heritage Collection, marking more than a decade of Gym King.

We sat down with our head designer, Lindsay Clegg, to talk through the inspiration behind our new Heritage Collection, honouring more than a decade of Gym King.

The Heritage Collection reimagines Gym King’s athleisure roots through a refined, modern lens, combining nostalgic sport influences with elevated fabrics, cleaner silhouettes and premium detailing.

Built around the new crest emblem, the range marks the brand’s evolution over the past decade while introducing timeless designs for the future.

When you first began working on the Heritage collection, what was the initial idea or feeling you wanted to capture? 

I wanted to capture a refined modern classic collection built from the foundations of our history.

At what point did it become clear that this would be a distinct ‘Heritage’ story within Gym King?  

This became clear through the development and combined elements in creating our personalised crest emblem.

How did you define ‘heritage’ for Gym King as a brand that’s now 10 years in, what did you draw on? 

We looked to our past and strong athleisure heritage, where we were able to take inspiration from archive designs to create a premium nostalgic sport inspired collection. We revisited new modern classics combining contrast trims and elevated embroidery branding placements.

Were there specific moments, eras, or elements from the brand’s history that influenced the direction? 

We took inspiration from the early years of the brand where we had a strong nostalgic sports influence.

What were the key sources of inspiration behind the collection, whether that’s fashion, culture, or something more personal? 

There were a variety of inspiration sources that aided in the collection’s creation, from lifestyle trends from premium club house trends, as well as couture and high fashion houses taking inspiration from archival crest branding, creating premium preppy inspired designs. 

We felt this was a great opportunity to build into new branding areas that we can utilise now and future collections. 

The introduction of the crest feels like a significant design statement, how did that idea come about? 

Currently we only have the GK crown as a key emblem we use across the collections, and we felt introducing the crest would bring a further depth and product opportunities moving forward.

What does the crest represent in the context of Gym King’s identity?

We simplified the crown that has pride in place at the top of the crest.  The crown holds a strong association with our heritage GK logo.   

The lion represents a symbol of strength, leadership, courage, and fearlessness, that blends into our GK beliefs, as well as the 15 which is our founded year, with the G and K evoking a feeling of exclusivity and a bespoke look. 

How did you approach designing something that feels timeless rather than trend-led? 

We wanted to create something new and exciting where we can use the design as a full logo application or take specific areas and use as icons separately to form and shape future designs. 

What were the core design principles that guided the collection from start to finish?

A premium elevated refined sports inspired collection that we can offer and build new emblem opportunities.

Which details or elements do you feel best express the shift into a more refined, elevated space? 

We have used new fabric weights and finishes, to create designs that look and feel more elevated. The aim of the collection was to create effortless all-day wearability.  

How did you approach silhouette, structure, and fabrication differently in this collection? 

We approached this through classic styling with redefined modern styling and silhouettes.   

Heavier weight loopback and premium jersey bases, and on women’s we have used fluid and luxury knitted fabric to design a modern classic track suit. 

In what ways does this collection reflect how Gym King has evolved over the past decade? 

We continue to deliver effortless all day wear athleisure that has evolved through the use of fabrication, refined details, and modern silhouettes. 

What part of the design process required the most exploration or iteration? 

This was the creation of the crest to ensure the branding worked across a variety of designs and can be also planned for future collections. 

Were there any ideas that significantly shaped the final outcome, even if they didn’t make it into the collection? 

The idea of creating a collection and specific pieces that offer a feeling of exclusivity through a members and community-based design. 

We had a broader offering initially on men’s encompassing different branding and styling ideas to create a feeling of a nostalgic range. If the range does create some good traction, we will look to build this out further. 

Looking at the collection as a whole, what do you feel it says about Gym King from a design perspective? 

A classic range redefined with seasonal styling. 

How does this collection influence the way you think about design for the brand moving forward? 

This range will help to develop new branding icons that will allow diversification across the collections. 

This will allow extra depth within the collections that does not soley rely on the brand name or GK crown.