First Lady Margaret Kenyatta and elite athlete Lornah Kiplagat hold up
one of the apparels that forms part of Lornah Sports wear during the
launch of the clothing line at the Galleria Shopping Mall in Nairobi
County. PHOTO | PSCU |
NATION MEDIA GROUP
A year after opening Kenya’s first tartan running track outside
Nairobi, Iten-based multiple world distance running champion and record
holder Lornah Kiplagat has broken new ground with Saturday’s launch of
an African women’s sportswear line.
The ‘Lornah’ brand
was unveiled at Nairobi’s Galleria Mall with First Lady Margaret
Kenyatta as the chief guest along with a galaxy of Kenyan World and
Olympic champions.
Mrs Kenyatta has already signed up
with the ‘Lornah’ brand and has been using the new African apparel in
her training for the Beyond Zero charity’s flagship event, the First
Lady’s Half Marathon, whose second edition will be held next Sunday in
Nairobi.
“Last year, during my training stint at the
High Altitude Training Centre in Iten ahead of the London Marathon,
Lornah told me that she was designing a new sports line, and indeed
showed me a sample of the apparel that I immediately fell in love with,”
Mrs Kenyatta, who just returned from a week of high altitude training
at Lornah’s Iten camp, said.
BRAND STANDS OUT
“As a mother, and as a supporter of the Beyond Zero campaign that stands for healthy living and better lifestyles for our mothers and children, I was overjoyed that, finally, we have a brand that resonates well with our daily lives and indeed with our campaign for a better future for Kenya’s women,” Mrs Kenyatta said.
“As a mother, and as a supporter of the Beyond Zero campaign that stands for healthy living and better lifestyles for our mothers and children, I was overjoyed that, finally, we have a brand that resonates well with our daily lives and indeed with our campaign for a better future for Kenya’s women,” Mrs Kenyatta said.
“I am happy to learn
that besides producing sportswear, the ‘Lornah’ brand will also
organize runs, have coaches, personal trainers and other consultants to
support the development of the brand and of athletics. This makes the
‘Lornah’ brand stand out from other brands and this is a step in the
right direction,” the First Lady added before flagging of a
two-kilometre fun run around the Galleria Shopping Mall to celebrate the
apparel’s launch.
The new ‘Lornah’ line is currently
available at a special, pop-up launch shop at the Galleria Shopping Mall
where a permanent shop will also be opened in the next few days with
further shops expected to be opened in Nairobi and other major Kenyan
towns.
FASHIONABLE APPAREL
“In
my 20 years as an elite athlete, I was looking for an apparel that
would be fashionable and happy, but unfortunately I did not find any,
and that’s why I decided to make the bold move and launch one myself,”
said Kiplagat whose stellar career is highlighted by three IAAF World
Half Marathon gold medals and victories in the Amsterdam, Rotterdam,
Osaka and Los Angeles marathons.
Kiplagat, who took up
citizenship of The Netherlands after wedding marketing executive,
Dutchman Pieter Langerhorst in 2003, also won the 2007 IAAF World Cross
Country Championships women’s long-course gold medal in Mombasa and is
the founder of the High Altitude Training Centre in Iten, Elgeyo
Marakwet County.
The ‘Lornah’ line is available in two
main categories with prices for the ‘elite’ line for high performance
athletes selling for between Sh4,900 and Sh9,000 for a set of tops and
bottoms with the prices for the ‘performance’ line, basically for
general fitness training and leisure, ranging between Sh4,500 and
Sh10,900.
Its entry into the lucrative sportswear
market will see it compete with established, global market leading
brands such as Puma, Nike, Adidas, Reebok, Asics and Mizuno, among
others.
Gospel songbird Emmy Kosgei performed her flagship song Taunet Nelel (a new beginning) appropriately setting the mood for the launch.
No comments :
Post a Comment