Represent had big news on Wednesday with the UK-based luxury brand announcing its “first-ever fully-realised womenswear line, Represent Woman”.

It’s been a two-year project and comes as the company said its Owners Club and 247 men’s lines have “snowballed to amass a huge fan base in women across the globe”.

The new offer “takes the established codes laid out by Represent across the last decade – the clean lines, considered design, and bold graphics – and feeds them through a new, contemporary prism to give the Represent woman her own identity”.

And the company was at pains to point out that “it was never a case of simply translating the menswear like for like into a women’s line – instead, her wardrobe compliments that of her counterpart rather than becoming a carbon copy”. 

It’s been created by a new womenswear team led by designer Toni Purdie, who was at Topshop during its growth years in the noughties working across its Unique and Boutique lines.

The women’s collection has its roots in the casual sportswear aesthetic that underpins Represent, but it “explores these codes in a more subtle way”. We’re told that “recognising a gap in the contemporary fashion landscape for cool, foundational pieces that are just as fitting for daytime as they are for night, Toni Purdie has created a capsule wardrobe that encompasses the needs of the modern woman”. 

Much of the collection is made in Britain using British-sourced fabrics and along with Purdie, it’s been developed by a female team.

Purdie said: “From joining the business as the sole womenswear team member armed with sketches and brimming with countless ideas, today, we are proud to have built a team of eight exceptionally talented women, each of whom has worked tirelessly to bring the Represent woman to life. It is with great excitement that we now launch the collection, a true testament to our collective dedication and hard work.”

Brand founders George and Mike Heaton said their plan “was always to create a dedicated collection built on the Represent DNA but offering something completely unique and new – a standalone edit informed by but not indebted to the men’s collections”.

George Heaton added that they didn’t want to do it “in a lacklustre way. We wanted to come at it like a storm,” while its strategic partners such as Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, END. and Flannels “have constantly been requesting that we do women’s”.

So what does the collection comprise? For SS25, it “takes its cues from the icons of the 1960s speed driving scene both on and off duty”. 

That means “slouchy, oversized hoodies that no longer need to be ‘borrowed from the boys’ are turned out with soft fleece lining, having undergone months of development to get the fit and finish just right. Basics like racer-back vests and bodies with clean cut-outs are elevated in premium cotton, and denim comes in linear cuts with minimal detailing – a jean jacket is blown up to become just a little bit oversized, while the jeans themselves are presented with a louche barrel-legged silhouette. Nothing is restrictive – like the menswear line, Represent womenswear balances comfort and cool”. 

And the company said it’s also come up with “a series of more unexpected moments within the collection. A simple, spaghetti-strapped slip dress is printed all over with an abstracted print depicting rows of runners, as part of a subtle nod to the roots of Represent”. Taking it away from sportswear, the dress is made from 100% silk. 

The same print can be seen on a boxy bowling shirt and the palette is “pared back to hues of nude, stone, mushroom, and indigo”.

“We really wanted some unexpected materials in the mix with the womenswear to differentiate it from the men’s,” said Purdie. “It’s all about keeping the DNA but elevating it in a new way.” 

The are more than 30 styles and they launch on 12 February with the collection having its own “expansive dedicated space” in Represent’s flagship stores in Los Angeles and Manchester. It’s also set for an exclusive pop-up in Selfridges and will be available on the Represent webstore too and at global stockists.

“We always wanted Represent to be the full package, and the womenswear collection has completely exceeded what we thought it could be,” said George Heaton. “We know it will come with a lot of challenges, but we are so excited to see it launch.”