Lululemon dishes details on Fishtown's upcoming 'Local' concept

The mysteries of Fishtown's new lululemon Local concept have finally been resolved.

Sara Webster, the Canada-based apparel company's Mid-Atlantic Area Community Manager, answered several questions that had PhillyVoice perplexed after the Fishtown location was announced in August. 

• RELATED ARTICLES
• The adventures of wearing my underwear to the beach 
• Philadelphia Fashion Incubator director explores new styles and designs in Israel
• Terrell Owens just launched a men's fashion line

We initially speculated below that the four new U.S. locations — in Fishtown; Fort Collins, Colorado; Bend, Oregon; and Sun Valley, Idaho — would be additions to the company's high-fashion lululemon Labs in Vancouver and New York City (pictured above), which serve as a pricier testing ground for the yoga-inspired locations across North America, Europe, and parts of the rest of the world. 

As it turns out, the company is launching a brand new store concept altogether, known as a lululemon Local: a place to gather, do yoga, hold events, and check out the work of local artists and interior designers. 

"The goal of the Local is to act as a community hub and allow us to speak directly to our community through localized and curated product allocations, community-driven activations and relationships with influencers in our communities," Webster said. "We aim to evolve alongside our guests outside of only their ‘studio’ experience in order to create a space that truly connects our guests with all aspects of their community."

The idea, another spokeswoman told us, is to take the traditional retail store and turn it into a connection point for neighborhood residents and regulars who embrace lululemon's values and apparel. What this will mean is still evolving, she added, but it could also include hi-intensity interval training sessions, launch parties, a space for Q & A's with ambassadors, and other community programs that support them in their daily "sweat life" (that's a company hashtag and branding slogan that really had us guessing for a month; see below how far off the mark I was, definitely not on purpose). 

"It involves sweating once a day, personally developing and externally connecting," the spokeswoman said. 

Webster envisions interior design partnerships that will celebrate Fishtown's casual flare for style. 

"The Local will be a space where we can highlight local makers, contributors and captains so as to elevate the work of our hyperlocal and innovative community," Webster said. "We will share information on the interior design as the opening [in late November] approaches."

Will there be food in the sweat life? 

"Sure, we love to eat, so I’d expect to see a few surprises here and there," Webster said. "You can count on our team knowing the best places in town to direct to our guests’ individual sweat life."

One piece of this puzzle remained somewhat unclear: the address of the Local will be 1424-32 Frankford Avenue (Space B), the same address as luxury technical cashmere shop Kit and Ace. That store (1424 Frankford Ave.) is owned by none other than Chip Wilson and his wife, Shannon, who once respectively founded and served as head of design for lululemon. 

Kit and Ace spokeswoman Anna Cordon told PhillyVoice the shop would close in late September. 

"As part of our real-estate strategy, we beta-test different locations and markets with temporary spaces, while also introducing our e-commerce platform to locals," Cordon said. "We deliberately enter with short-term leases and minimal buildout to test and connect with the community."