Tentang LARi Active
LARi Active (also known as LARi) adalah pakaian olahraga bertemakan athleisure ber-design eccentric dengan fashion, comfort, and sustainability, memudahkan para pemakainya to always be on the go, in the gym and beyond sesuai dengan makna nama LARi. Brand ini didirikan oleh empat sahabat yang telah menjalin pertemanan lebih dari satu setengah dekade; Indira Setia Putri, Deviani Syarifuddin, Carin Widjaja dan Sally Yarlis.
Di percakapan artikel kali ini, Buset akan membawa pembaca sekalian untuk up close and personal dengan dua dari empat perempuan hebat ini–mulai dari inspirasi LARi, visi activewear kedepannya, hingga rutinitas sebagai seorang ibu. Adanya opsi yang lebih hijau untuk pakaian olahraga sangatlah penting. “Because we want to feel good wearing the right thing–fashionably and sustainably” tambah wajah dari brand LARi Activewear, Robyn Russell yang merupakan pemenang Miss Earth Fire Australia 2022.
Ada Apa Dengan LARi?
Indira: “We’re all friends, all four of us, we’re all mums who’ve got children, a full-time job, and businesses, we’re always on the go and in a rush all the time!”
Deviani: “And that’s why we came up with the name LARi, busy busy! Hence the design is not meant to be like your typical activewear. We want it to be street-wearish–athleisure, where you can easily transform from gym, gathering, or even working in the same outfit without worrying about changing. It’s convenient. But life is always a balancing act, constantly, hence mentally and literally we’re like LARI!! Run!!”
I: “ And [for] Robyn here, she has a full time job, the crown of Miss Earth Fire Australia 2022, and she went to the gym as well, a woman who’s always on the go, very active. That’s partly why we chose Robyn to be our Ambassador as well. I mean, she’s fit and she’s very young!”
What’s your first impression of the brand?
Robin: “Oh I love it right off the bat. I’ve been with them since September 2022, still pretty fresh because I’ve only met them through Miss Earth when we got to look and choose athleisure to wear in the days leading up to Miss Earth Australia. I was looking at different designs they sent and thought to myself oh these are really fun colours! I got it and was so excited to put it on. It felt really really nice and super comfortable.
I spent the whole day in it, rehearsing–constantly like on my feet the whole day, dancing, catwalks, it was insane–when it ended and it still feels really nice. I don’t feel like I’m beating in sweat or anything like a lot of athletic wear does, it is comfortable and the colours allow you to express yourself and stand out. You don’t want to go somewhere and just kind of blend in—especially for myself where I’d like to make a change.
And then I love the fact that it was founded by four women, four very independent and powerful women, I love that. I’m all about women empowerment!”
Kreativitas dan Produksi
D: “We did a lot of research.”
I: “Yes, a lot. That’s why it took us nearly two years, from 2020, to launch the brand in February 2022. We did comparison and due diligence to really find and choose our suppliers and manufacturer; in Indonesia, China and Italy. Very well in nylon regeneration technologies–repurposing fishing nets polluting the ocean and fabric scraps destined for landfill–they’re really good and responsible.”
D: “Because we don’t want to be like those in fast fashion, so we need to do a lot of research. Then and only then can we execute it to the production process.”
D: “I took inspiration everywhere, here and there, social media and random thoughts saying oh I should do this and that! From all [of those] inspirations, put them together, show it. When they say oh yeah! that is good, I’ll post it!”
R: “the trust…”
I: “Sometimes we find a defect after everything is posted and we’re like; that one I don’t think that it should be there! edit! edit! get rid of it! Can we- edit it- please? But that’s the fun stuff right, spontaneity!
But, we did plan well in advance because we think it’s very important to plan and since the quality is the most important bit, if the product is not ready then it’s not ready. Even though we’ve got business and corporate backgrounds, at the end of the day, the industry itself—fashion—is different and we’re still learning.”
D: “And in terms of process, from sketching, all design ideas from us, then execution by our suppliers, it depends. When it needs more craftsmanship, it will take at least and around six months but simple designs like t-shirt and tank-top took three months, sort of.”
I : ”Then delivery where we always do samples in between production and delivery, it’s very important to test the quality, making sure the fabrics have enough elasticity while still being sustainable. Also all the detailed stuff that we need to take into consideration.”
D: “Yeah, the sports bras and leggings need more specific details. We need to try it on! If it’s not comfortable then it is a no go!”
I: “Also, to us, fashion means flattering cut and colours taking into account people’s body proportion and differences from the young and the young at heart–like us!”
D: “LARi is all about doing something different, versatile but not too much and that’s the tricky one, where you can wear it anytime throughout the day.”
Arti Sustainability dan Proses Realisasi
R: “For my future and future generation, securing an earth to live on. I am a bit control freaky about little things I can do for the future because I don’t want a world where I can’t live in. There was a story of a girl, the first person to die of air pollution. She was 9 years old. She’s very young and has so much more to live for. That hurts me because that’s where our future is going if we don’t make a change.
Hence the reason I joined Miss Earth was to help make that change and spread awareness without scaring people, letting them know that it’s achievable through the little things we do every day.
I know you can’t be perfect from the get go, it’s a slow process, and my biggest change that I did was to switch into an electric vehicle because I do a lot of driving for my job–I carpooled a lot of people as well to save them from driving there. So that was a big one from me. and Eventually I want to move to solar, trying to convince the person who owns my place. But then, even little habits like recycling and not over buying things. There’s a lot of it.
Even getting LARi, it’s sustainable and something you can wear for ages. I’ve worn them constantly and I put them through the wringer in my workout but they stay so well, and it’s awesome.”
Kelanjutan LARiActive
I : ”We want to continue the sustainability journey, long term. We’re still learning to be 100 percent sustainable, baby steps. We’ll try to improve it bit by bit from 70 to 80 percent”
D: “ It is an achievable goal and we’d like to keep putting together trends, fashion, and sustainability. To keep innovating.”
I : “And as the market progresses towards sustainability, people are more aware about this, and as we learn more, we can improve on doing the right thing. To focus on sustainability as the future of active wear.”
Hubungan Profesional dengan Teman: Boundaries and Beyond
D: “Whoever can just step [up] and do [it]. Fill in each other but also, we’re kind of easy going. If Indira is too busy then I’ll do it. If I’m busy then Carin or Sally will do it. So we just go with the flow. Making it easy.”
I: “We would all agree that it’s all about getting the job done. We’ve got the same vision so we have to help each other in terms of our own strengths and weaknesses. We have our experiences, expertise and skill sets but often times when one of us is time-poor, others will be happy to jump in.”
D: “It’s the consideration and respect for each other’s time–being a family and stuff. We can’t put blames.”
I: “An understanding that [we] each needs [our] space so when that happens, we’d be like you know what, take your time.
Hence, it’s a relationship built by understanding each other and respect.“
D: “And transparency as well.”
Pikiran Adalah Sumber Jawaban
R: “This is a very big one for me”
R: “Well, I guess the biggest thing for any busy person is their perspective–If you go in thinking oh my god this is going to be horrible, I’m going to be so drained then you’re going to be drained. If you go into it thinking this is going to be such a good day, I’m going to get so much out of this, you’re gonna end the day thinking oh wow that was really good.
For myself, I wake up super early, I go to the gym, then work—9 to 5.30—then I’ll teach dance, home, chill, cook dinner, hang out with someone—maybe—and then bedtime. Repeat. Over and over again. My weekends? I’m still working, doing events, Miss Earth, all my other events with the Filipino community, and planning around that. As long as I have a firm schedule, I will be happy with it because I’m starting to get into the routine as well and starting it is the hard part.
It’s all about mentality. First day sucked. Especially when you wake up, 4.30 in the morning to go to the gym? Suck. But look at the positive side, if I go to the gym at 5 am it’s quieter, I can really enjoy myself, no one’s going to judge me. I actually got one of my friends to start joining me. At the gym. At 5 am. Because she’s also crazy. But going into that kind of thing with someone to keep you accountable, definitely helps.
For students and people with a day job, there’ll be so many dips regardless of what you’re doing. One day you’ll hate it and other days you’ll love it because even when it seems like a constant high, it’s not. So don’t forget to remind yourself why you’re doing it, where are you going to go in the future [too]. Might suck now, but you keep going.”
Bisnis dan Keluarga
I: “Well watching TV is like a privilege for me, for us!”
R: “Facts, feel that!”
D: “But it’s time management above everything, I will wake up in the morning, prepare lunch boxes for my two girls–busy mum–then work, me-time, and stuff like that. But above all else, family is very important to me, a number one priority.”
I: “Yes, family support is everything. If I didn’t have support from my husband and son, I wouldn’t be here. Absolutely. So that’s also number one for me. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t sacrifice [some of] my time for my family. I do. But if they really want to spend time with me and think that this is too much, we’ll get back to open communication and transparency. I will take a step back and spend more quality time with them. We’ll definitely be having that conversation. To talk about it and to put your family first.”
