For the next two weeks, 340 King’s Road will play host to pop-up store of luxury running apparel brand, Acid Running.
Launched in April 2022, we spoke with Co-Founder and Creative Director of Acid Running, Oliver Powe who decided to make Acid Running’s temporary home on the King’s Road to serve its customer base in South West London:
“Acid Running is unlike most of the running brands in the industry, which tend to be either multi-sport multinationals or performance-only brands. We’ve combined advanced performance fabrics enabling you to perform at the highest level with a more relaxed silhouette and a luxury streetwear aesthetic.
“It was a great opportunity for people who had been following the brand to come down to the King’s Road to get their hands on the fabrics and see what the hype was about.”
The brand holds high sustainability credentials with registered suppliers using safe input chemicals and monitoring water and air emissions; recycled and natural fibres are also incorporated into all garments. In fact, cottons are sourced from climate-positive farms where the soil is restored after use, with some fabric utilising waste plastic to develop world-leading performance textiles.
“We started developing the brand at the end of 2020and into the beginning of 2021. Maybe naively, we thought that journey would be shorter than it was, but the sustainability and quality burden we wanted from our garments took a long time to develop. We’re really proud of what we’ve achieved in that first iteration, but we’re really humble knowing there’s more we can do.”
The brand is going from strength to strength, with this store intended to be the first of many, and Acid Running’s stint on the King’s Road has broadened its horizons and raised its aspirations:
“We’ve reached a number of key important milestones: our first core collections, our first stockists, and our first really strong physical presence on the King’s Road. We’re now looking to expand that – new territories, seasonal range plan, and more womenswear.
“We know having been on the King’s Road, that women are adamant we need to launch a womenswear range as soon as possible. We believe female runners are more under-served than male runners and we want to remedy that as soon as possible.”
He continues, “This is where we’ve had our first investors committed. This is our first fundraising round, and we’re looking to close that round as soon as possible to launch our growth plans. That’s really exciting.”
And what about Oliver’s King’s Road recommendations?
“If I’m not in the Acid Running store I’m in the Sandro store. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a Sandro obsessive. I suppose the thing that I love about that brand, is its quality, elegance, silhouette and storytelling, that’s the sort of lifestyle brand we’re replicating with Acid Running.”
Acid Running will be based on 340 King’s Road until 1st February 2023, when it will move to its permanent flagship location at 293 Fulham Road.
