An Interview with Lucas Hugh Founder Anjhe Mules
In 2010, before athleisure became a thing, Anjhe Mules launched Lucas Hugh in London as a way to create sportswear that worked and would sit seamlessly into the wardrobes of the fashion-conscious. Using technical fabrics in its designs that aid sporting performance, Lucas High clothing is innovative and suited for a wide variety of sports and exercises – from yoga and cycling to skiing and triathlons. We sat down with Anjhe to find out what it is about Lucas Hugh that makes it stand out amongst other sportswear brands, her impressive design background, and how her collections aid performance.
Lucas Hugh is loved by our loyal following for its distinctive ability to seamlessly merge the worlds of fashion and high performance sport. Each product we design is crafted from the highest quality fabrics available in the most technologically advanced European sportswear factories. The collections are designed to support a serious workout yet versatile and stylish enough to wear throughout the day. Our guiding principle is always maintaining the balance between form and function!
I think working for another designer is really important in order to fully appreciate the industry (I did it for eight years before launching my second brand). I was fortunate to work for some inspiring fashion houses, including Marc Jacobs and Alexander McQueen. Above anything else these years taught me the importance of having an authentic source of inspiration as this always builds the foundation for a strong and successful collection. In addition to this, Alexander McQueen’s pioneering use of advanced technologies for print, pattern cutting and presenting works digitally, still remains a huge influence on what I do and how I develop Lucas Hugh.
I launched Lucas Hugh in 2010 out of a personal need for a technical athletic product, which complemented the female figure and incorporated a fashionable look. Having worked with stretch fabrics for so long within swimwear, it was quite a smooth transition into activewear. I spent three years researching, testing and developing samples before the brand launched in 2010.
The design process always starts with an idea - technology, art, current events, music, futuristic films, you name it, our inspiration comes in all forms! We then have what we term a ‘design dump day’ surrounding this key theme. We explore new colours, products, as well as revisit and develop current designs in order to slowly build a collection. From here it slowly becomes more formalised, and we create a range plan, ensuring that we hit our desired price points and product categories.
What I think is important is that the design values have remained the same, yet the product offering has grown. Lucas Hugh started primarily as a running brand but has slowly developed to include products specifically designed for additional exercise forms. For example, we now offer an extensive range of technical knit that is perfect for barre, yoga and dance enthusiasts. Alongside this, each season we look to add new and exciting layering pieces, perfect for those of us who appreciate a gym to brunch wardrobe!
From superior fabric selection and construction techniques to inspired and stylish designs, the foundation of Lucas Hugh is centred on aiding performance. We intentionally select fabrics with higher contents of Polyamide and Elastine, as this is naturally moisture wicking, UV resistant and antibacterial. This fabric composition also serves to compress the muscles, aiding blood-flow and circulation. When it comes to construction, our performance series are laser cut and heat-bonded, making them anti-chafing and more streamline. We also like to think that our products make our women feel incredible and therefore want to work out harder and faster!
