Ivy Heart
Love is probably the most prominent theme in pop music, so it’s hard to crown a specific singer as the patron saint of the love song. That said, it’s hard to imagine that Beyoncé isn’t in the running (Crazy in Love, Drunk in Love, Dangerously in Love, Love on Top, etc.). Let’s put aside the fact that the next solo record from Beyoncé has yet to come into the horizon, and instead enjoy the latest drop from her athleisure line, Ivy Park. Aptly named “Ivy Heart,” the Feb 9. collection blasts vibrant red into the forefront of new jackets, slides, and bags while maintaining the brand’s use of creams used in its first launch with Adidas.
The star of this collection is the red running throughout—a staple motif of love that signifies romance and sensuality in the West and good fortune and joy in the East (per the Ivy Heart’s official press release.) For anyone in the BeyHive, Ivy Park’s faux latex in this bright red is without a doubt a call to Beyoncé’s Atsuko Kudo latex look from The Formation World Tour. The striking color is as stage-ready as it is perfect for enhancing a winter workout.
As with other Ivy Park releases, the shoes are stellar. The creamy Savage V4’s are my favorite (second photo in the gallery), though they are arguably the most standard of the collection. More interestingly, Ivy Park coats the Stan Smith’s soles in the collection's faux latex (fifth photo), and the Superstar Mule gets a new silhouette and is pointy-toed (third photo). The neon pink—reminiscent of Beyoncé’s second weekend of Coachella—looks sleek on the UltraBOOST. Finally, the red motif carries over into the collection’s slides, which notably lack the brand’s usual logo that previous slides have featured. With that said, the faux leather photographs well.
Prior to a collection’s launch, Ivy Park likes to keep photos of each item going on sale under wraps, so unfortunately I cannot give a complete review of other items. From promo videos, however, the snakeskin hoodies are stellar, and the furry-strapped heart bag is adorable.
Speaking of promo videos, this latest Ivy Park campaign continues the brand’s push for “a diverse cast of models,” and it stars bodies such as “actress and model Karrueche Tran, model and actor Tyson Beckford, singer/songwriter, actor Troye Sivan, model and actress Shu Pei and actress/comedian Naomi Watanabe.” Representation is nice, but it is even nicer that the brand continues to include wide-ranging sizes from XXXS to XXXXL (even to kids, per their last drop). What continues to be a barrier, however, is Ivy Park’s price. Although the lower range of the collection is $30, the majority of the pieces sit at the hundreds mark. The brand has long gone away from being considered anything below midrange, but it still bears mentioning that most of the collection veers closer to $300.
All in all, Ivy Heart is another stunning addition to Beyoncé’s growing athleisure empire. Too bad it’s not the free kind of love.
