The fashion industry has a new sports brand: Philos Running. Behind the brand is American designer Greg Rosborough, who lives in Amsterdam. He has a background in customization, worked at Ralph Lauren, was a finalist at the LVMH Emerging Designer Prize and was co-founder of the Abasi Rosborough brand. Together with Sophie Nordenhed, whom he met while running, he founded Philos Running.
To find out more about the new brand, which also opened a store in Amsterdam last Saturday, FashionUnited Rosborough asks some written questions.
What made you start Philos Running?
Last year in Athens I went for a run early one morning in the old Panatheniac Stadium. It was empty, just me and the stadium. When you read the history of this stadium it is incredibly inspiring, much more so than the Colosseum in Rome. It is the only marble stadium ever built in the world and has hosted running events for 2,500 years, including the first modern Olympic Games and the first marathon. And it is breathtakingly beautiful.
Walking there, I was deeply moved by the classical architecture, the myths and the heritage. I felt a connection across time to the origins of running, back to our ancestors and shared history. I realized that no running brand in the world thought about running this way. It’s not about wearing ugly polyester clothing and achieving your personal best time. Running is much deeper and more beautiful than that. Running is ancient, natural and intuitive. Running is our shared heritage as humans. Running is a universal human expression. It belongs to all of us and connects us today, but also through time. The sentence “running as ceremony” came to mind and that was the moment I decided that I wanted to start a running brand based on a completely new philosophy and that is Philos.
And you met your co-founder while running?
We met through the running group that Sophie was already a member of. I always went running alone and wanted to be in a group. I met Sophie while running in the Vondelpark and she invited me to her group, the Sunday Run Club.
I saw her ability to build and lead a community of runners. She has a fresh and modern approach with a caring touch and that felt relevant to how I wanted to build Philos. She grew up in Sweden, she is a marathoner and her mother is an ultramarathoner, running is part of who she is. She also has a strong perspective, an entrepreneurial spirit and is a natural leader. We started talking over a cup of coffee and within a few months it was clear that we would work together.
How were you able to use the experience you gained in the fashion industry at Philos?
With time, travel and experience you start to get a feel for the role of design in the world. Clothing is psychological, how we present ourselves based on cultural expectations, our individual beliefs and other factors. It’s also emotional. Even with the commercialization of clothing in the last 10 to 15 years, I still believe in the power of stories, aesthetics and beauty to inspire us. And I believe that inspiration is one of the most important gifts one person can give to another. I have been inspired by so many creators through clothing, architecture, art, film and music and I want to do my part to carry on that torch.
What are the differences between designing ready-to-wear and sportswear and shoes?
I designed ready-to-wear collections in New York City based on my sartorial background — everything was designed for city living: walking around the city, taking the subway, going to the MoMA or Central Park, running errands. The clothing had to perform in that cultural context and circumstances.
For Philos, the sportswear and shoes are also inspired by tailoring, but they have to perform in one of the most beautiful human activities there is: running. It was incredible to apply tailoring techniques to sportswear and shoes, to reshape the silhouette and, above all, to elevate it and make it beautiful.
Which target group do you want to attract with the brand?
Philos is designed for empowered, independent, modern women. Women who travel and have a personal style and don’t want to compromise on aesthetics or quality, even when running. Her running shoes and clothes should be versatile enough to pair with jeans at the airport, with a blazer for a work meeting, and give her a feeling of power on her morning run.
We mainly see black items in the photos – was this a conscious choice?
Yes. The designers who inspire me are masters of black – Rick Owens, Zaha Hadid, Miuccia Prada, Richard Serra, Yohji Yamamoto. Black is refined, intelligent, chic. Black is Amsterdam, New York, Paris, Tokyo, London, LA. Black is ancient and modern, pure and complex, sculptural and timeless.
The decision was made to focus on women, while the first idea revolved around a men’s brand. Can you tell us more about that?
Over the past few years I have met many inspiring female runners. When I talk to women and discuss running brands, it’s no secret that women always come second, almost every running brand in the world is men first, women later. Or yoga first, running later. Also, the quality of current running brands is disappointingly low, everything is polyester, and generally quite ugly. Philos is that which does not yet exist in the world: a modern, feminine running brand that focuses on quality and aesthetics.
The launch coincides with the opening of a store. Can you tell us more about this choice?
You can go into running stores anywhere – from New York to Paris, London, Amsterdam, LA – and right now there’s the same formula everywhere: sleek glass, neon lights, lots of metal – it’s sterile, clinical and inhumane. Because Philos is built around a natural, philosophical, humanistic aesthetic, I also wanted to tell that story physically with a store, as a focal point for our community. The idea was to build the Philos Temple of Running – high ceilings, natural light, with stones and statues, on an old canal – and to create the most beautiful running store in the world.
What is the ultimate dream for Philos?
To inspire more people to start running as part of their lives, to make it a weekly ritual. It’s a way to reconnect with yourself and others, to explore our beautiful planet on two feet, and it’s empowering. I believe it is a natural antidote to the synthetic technology, loneliness and fear of our modern age.
The Philos Running store is located at Spiegelgracht 21, Amsterdam.