Sethal Studio

Shirlizle, the founder of Sethal Studio, was active in sports and owned plenty of athletic wear. Nothing worked the way she wanted it to. "Products were either aesthetically pleasing but not functional, or functional but unstylish."

She and her friends, all into art and recreational sports, decided to fix it themselves. "We wanted to solve these problems by creating athleisure that is both stylish and functional, without compromising on quality."

The design process always starts with function. "We start by focusing on functionality, constantly asking ourselves, 'How can we make this better?'" From there the pieces are shaped to feel minimal but bold, with a lot of visual inspiration coming from geometric shapes. "Many of our designs are inspired by geometric shapes and their overlapping patterns, like those seen in our S3 shorts."

Traditional craftsmanship runs through the work too. Some gym essentials are hand-knitted, other pieces lean into cultural storytelling like the Year of the Snake line. "We want our customers to feel confident because we believe that what you wear has a significant impact on your mood."

Six months in

The brand is only six months old and the road has been honest. "There have been constant rejections. Scaling has been challenging since we're still a small brand, and it's been difficult to find creators willing to give us exposure."

Sethal produces in small batches, most of them pre-order, limited to 10 to 20 pieces per drop. "This isn't about intentionally creating scarcity for hype but rather about minimizing waste. The fashion industry generates around 92 million tonnes of textile waste annually, and we want to do our part in reducing it."

What's next

Shirlizle wants to build for niche sports that rarely get attention in fashion. "We plan to expand by developing designs for niche sports that lack coverage, such as motorsports, diving gear, rock climbing and golf." In-person events and pop-ups are on the way too.

"Embrace trial and error. It's rare to get it right or perfect on the first try. Be confident, stay true to yourself, and don't feel pressured to follow trends. Just focus on being authentic and unique in your work."

Follow Sethal Studio

IG: @sethal.studio

Store: www.sethal.com

Off Record Magazine

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