Four years ago, Joe Kudla, an athlete turned model turned finance person, started Vuori as a brand that made performance wear for men.
Soon after that, the Encinitas, Calif.–based company started making women’s clothing—sports bras, hoodies, leggings.
Last week, the brand confirmed it was serious about expanding its women’s collection by announcing that activewear veteran Sarah Carlson would join the company as its vice president of women’s product design, a new position for the company, Kudla said.
Carlson served as vice president of design and product innovation at Athleta, a division of Gap Inc., from December 2013 to July 2018. At Athleta, she supervised a team of 30 designers, oversaw sustainability efforts and developed partnerships.
During that time, the brand introduced products such as the Empower Bra, Sculptek, Powervita and NeoShell. She also worked as a senior director of design for the Gap and Banana Republic brands.
Other design gigs included stints at Levi Strauss & Co., Tommy Hilfiger and New York & Company.
“I have always been passionate about designing apparel that supports women to lead active, healthy and vibrant lifestyles,” Carlson said. “With its refreshed perspective on performance apparel, Vuori undoubtedly shares those passions with me as they continually break the boundaries of traditional activewear.”
Kudla said that Carlson would be an important addition to the company’s women’s line.
“Her decorated background and track record of success speak for themselves. Perhaps most importantly, Sarah’s passion for innovation, sustainability and the creative process are well aligned with the values that we cherish and have built this business around,” he said.
Vuori also is adding stores to its bricks-and-mortar retail division. Later this year, Vuori is scheduled to open a store in Del Mar, Calif., just north of San Diego.