P.E Nation founders Claire Tregoning and Pip Edwards are celebrating the label’s fifth birthday. Image credit: Supplied.

When Australian active streetwear label P.E Nation was launched in 2016 by friends and creative partners Pip Edwards and Claire Tregoning, activewear’s role in fashion was in a state of flux. Women, in particular, had begun donning comfortable activewear outside the gym and the market was flooded with labels trying to capitalise on the trend.

What set P.E Nation apart from the pack was Claire and Pip’s belief that women’s activewear wasn’t a passing trend but an upcoming revolution. They understood that busy women were looking to be fashionable, comfortable and unrestricted in their everyday lives.

While their competitors were turning out thousands of pairs of flower-print yoga pants to meet this demand, P.E Nation took a more high-fashion approach. “Other brands were “doing it in a very different way. It was very feminine and not design driven,” explains Claire. Drawing on their decades of combined experience in the fashion industry, the duo created runway-worthy performance pieces with a nod to ‘90s streetwear. “Function and luxury. Putting that into everyday design wasn’t being done,” says Pip.

Don’t let the fashionable designs distract from the performance aspect – P.E Nation’s garments are as powerful as they are stylish. “As much as the pieces are design-driven, they’re functionally driven as well. Tennis, yoga, running, swimming — each has its own technical movement that does dictate a panel line or contrast fabric,” explains Pip.

The fabrication of the designs is something in which the duo have invested heavily. For much of the label’s life, P.E Nation has been quietly working behind the scenes to ensure its garments are produced in the most sustainable way possible.