Interview: Adrianne Ho Talks Her Sweat Crew Collab with PacSun, Favorite Sneakers, Supreme, and Instagram Thirst Etiquette

The model dishes on her new capsule collection for PacSun, fitness, and keeping the online thirst at bay.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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When she first burst onto the scene, Adrianne Ho developed a following as the model who captured the eyes and hearts of streetwear and sneaker culture, popping up in lookbooks and editorials wearing men's clothing in a way that made it look even better on her than it did on dudes. Since then, she's founded her own website, Sweat the Style, a platform where Ho espouses the ideals of her healthy lifestyle, with regular posts around eating clean, working out, and of course, plenty of awesomely styled looks.

She even has her own line, Sweat x Sweat the Style, that gives women's performance gear her signature edge. So it's no surprise that her new collaboration with PacSun,  Sweat Crew by Adrianne Ho, ticks off a lot of similarly styled boxes and has the same athletic appeal. The collection hits stores today and consists of mesh jerseys with a boyish vibe to reversible elongated bombers embroidered with rose emblems, sleeveless hoodies with concealed side zips for breathability, and long baseball shirts that can double as a sporty dress. There's even a nice camo anorak with 3M details outlining Ho's personal story and the three cities she's called home: Toronto, New York, and Los Angeles.

The best part? Everything in the collaboration is under $100, so it's extremely affordable for anyone who wants to cop a piece. We met up with Adrianne Ho at the rooftop of New York City's Refinery Hotel, where she had just hosted a morning workout. She took a break from refueling with some Juice Press to talk about working with PacSun, how corny the "athleisure" trend is, and some basic online etiquette tips for thirsty Instagram commenters.

How’d this PacSun collaboration happen?
They just approached and wanted to create a brand together. It was a great opportunity because there was nothing out there that really spoke to me, so this is it.

What has PacSun has given you in terms of resources, and creative freedom that you haven’t been able to get from other outlets?
This collection is my collection; they were an amazing partner to come up with this brand. It’s going to be really exciting to see in stores. I think they have around 600 stores across the country. Being able to have that reach is great—a girl who might not necessarily buy something or even know what this brand is can actually discover it on her own, love it, and wear it.

Is there a specific woman in mind when you think of who’s wearing these clothes?
This is for everybody. Everything in this collection you could mix and match and it would look good. Red goes with camouflage, goes well with gray, goes well with black. Pinstripe looks good with camouflage. You can seriously get dressed in the morning with this collection blindfolded and you will come out looking good.

Everybody wants to look good, and the only way to do it is to take care of yourself. Eat well, exercise and put out the best version of you.

The big buzzword right now is “athleisure,” do you worry that people will try to categorize this collection under that?
This is sportswear. People can throw it into that category if they want because it’s a buzzword, but to me I would call it sportswear.

I don’t have anything against the word “athleisure”, because people need to have an aim to describe this movement and I think now everything is becoming so popular and people are getting more into health and fitness and style is reflecting on that. It’s a category of something that already exists.

People like something they can make into a hashtag.
Yeah, and for me this movement going to be here to stay. I think once you start living this lifestyle, you can’t really go back.

Health and wellness and fitness is a new status symbol. Everybody’s doing it, even Russell Simmons is on the yoga tip. How does that reflect what society values now and what the aspirations are?
I think nowadays people are really savvy and aware about their health and the way they want to live their life. Style and culture is only going to reflect how people live. I think that’s the driving force. I mean, everybody wants to look good, and the only way to do it is to take care of yourself. Eat well, exercise and put out the best version of you.

Female athletes like Ronda Rousey and Serena Williams, legends in their own right, are starting to become noticed by the fashion world. Why do you think female athletes have yet to be embraced in the fashion world the same way that male athletes are?
I think it’s only a matter of time. I personally love Serena, she was just in Vogue recently, and I think that female athletes are going to get more and more of the spotlight beyond their respective sport as time goes on. Growing up, girls are now going to have heroes to look up to, I think definitely female athletes are people that everyone—women especially, can aspire to.

Do you think it’s about time that Serena has her name on a sneaker?
Oh yeah, that would be awesome. She has a great sense of style. She’s very much her own person which I love about her. Tennis seems like a very conservative sport, so I love watching documentaries and seeing her and her sister come out with their attitude and their swag, making people do a double take.

Speaking of sneakers, what’s your current rotation looking like these days?
Huaraches—I have a pair with me right now. I got these on right now, they’re being released on Saturday, the NikeLab Free Inneva. I love these. Flyknits are always a fave of mine.

What do you think of the rumored Supreme Jordans? Would you rock them?
To be honest, I don’t have any Jordans. I didn’t really grow up wearing Jordans or playing basketball..

Air Maxes are seem more your lane.
Air Max, Flyknits, I really like an active sneaker that you can work out in or do exercise, not just basketball.

Do you have the Yeezy Boost 350s?
I have the grey ones.

What do you think of them?
They’re pretty comfortable, I wouldn’t go for a run in them. I think they’re cool.

What do you think of Supreme’s Fall collection?
Everything looks incredible.

Any favorite pieces that you saw and you were just like: “I need that?”
I have to take another look. Some of their jackets, like the one with the diamonds, looked really cool. It was a really strong overall collection.

Your social media following is huge and you get a lot of comments, and not all of them are the nicest. Is there a way you deal with thirsty comments on Instagram or did you develop a way to ignore that?
If there’s a mean comment I don’t think about it too much, I try not to. Positivity is my thing, if there’s one comment that’s a diss everyone’s going to stop and be like “What?” Overall, everyone that follows me and knows me has been super nice and supportive.

What’s a good guideline for a guy who wants to leave a complimentary comment without sounding like a creep?
I would say a good guideline would be asking yourself: “Would my mother approve?” Like, would you be embarrassed if someone else in your family read this comment? Then you probably shouldn’t put it up.

What’s been your biggest adjustment in moving from New York to LA? Do you have preference between the cities yet?
I think they’re both really important places. I think L.A.  is a little easier to keep your head down and work work work. When you go to New York you can mingle and interact and get inspiration and put everything out. For me it’s been important to have that balance.

What’s up with the Roots collab hinted at in your piece on The Coveteur, is that happening soon?
Maybe. You have to wait and find out.

Is there any advice you would pass on to a young person who wants to create her or his own brand some day?
Make sure your inspiration comes from within—something to do with your lifestyle, your history, your background, your personality, your story. Have a clear vision of when it comes out so it doesn’t end up falling into trends, which is something I hate doing. With this collection, I don’t see anything like this in a woman’s lane that’s similar at all. Maybe a couple seasons from now. Always be forward. That way if someone’s looking, following or getting inspiration from this, we’ll be on to the next thing, which is fine. You know when it’s from within your history, your background and everything. You have your clear vision and you can stick to it. Whether that’s sportswear or fashion. Know your lane.

Sweat Crew by Adrianne Ho is now available at PacSun.

 

 

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