VPL is a leading fashion activewear company, described by Forbes as the next Lululemon. Originally started as a rebellious concept--a line of fashion underwear to be worn as outerwear (VPL is an acronym for "visible panty line"), VPL has since added functionality of activewear in order to make the concept real. VPL is often credited with leading the "athleisure" market by becoming one of the first
activewear brands to be carried by top retailers such as Barneys, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Harvey Nichols. VPL's innovative products frequently adorn the covers of magazines, celebrities on stage, movies and TV. Designed by women for women, VPL is a smart fitness clothing company with mission to empower women to stay fit, healthy and educated through its innovative products and its business activities. In 2016 VPL received a certification as a B-Corporation. VPL advocates slow design and sustainable production. Through its slow design process, design and development costs are amortized over years not seasons to keep prices accessible. Today all of VPL designs are patented to fight with knock offs by fast fashion retailers. VPL products are made in small batches of production instead of mass production, which normally ends up in over-consumption by consumers. We choose to pay fair wages to those who make VPL products instead of going overseas for cheaper labor costs. Working with women- and minority-owned factories in California, VPL developed a unique production process that utilizes excess fabric from production to minimize fabric waste ("upcycle" program). For this sustainable production, VPL became the winner of CFDA/Lexus Eco Challenge among many other industry awards it received. The savings from fabric utilization are now used to benefit young women through VPL's education fund, which gives money directly to select classroom projects across the country (read our funded initiatives here). Through its innovative program, VPL provides free fitness classes, including standup paddle boarding, surfing, yoga, SUP yoga, pilates, and barre in partnership with various studios, instructors and corporate sponsors. VPL plans to launch the next generation of smart fitness clothing with technology to keep women safe, healthy, fit, and informed. We will continue to empower women through all stages of their lives and women with all body shapes to stay fit, healthy and educated! More about VPL
VPL products were featured in movies, TVs and advertising campaigns, including New York City Ballet, The Hunger Games, Gossip Girl, as well as Lady Gaga and Rihanna on stage. VPL was seen on the cover of Esquire featuring Scarlett Johansson, Health with Tracy Anderson, Vanity Fair with Madonna, as well as W Magazine on Victoria Beckham and Tilda Swinson, Vogue for Jennifer Anniston, Jessica Alba in GQ, Christy Turlington in Harper's Bazaar. VPL's CEO Kikka Hanazawa is the founder of Fashion Girls for Humanity, a nonprofit organization dedicated to humanitarian relief, and invested in various fashion businesses including VPL. Both her non profit and for profit ventures have been featured in Wall Street Journal, BBC, Forbes, New York Times, Reuters, Nikkei, Elle, Last Magazine, Vogue, WWD, Senken, Asahi Newspaper, and many other fashion publications. She has been selected by Forbes Asia for 2014 Philanthropist List, and Fashion Girls for Humanity was the recipient of Asia Society's Game Changer Award. She has been a featured speaker at Harvard Business School and actively organizes CEO talk series to empower women through entrepreneurship.
