barre3

In case you haven’t heard, barre3 is a leading upscale fitness franchise based in Portland, Oregon. Known for their signature full-body workouts that combine strength, cardio, and mindfulness, they’ve built a loyal community with more than 170 studios across the U.S.—plus a thriving digital platform via the barre3 app (available on iOS, Amazon, and Roku).

But beyond the workout, what truly impresses us is their standout retail program. Every month, their merchandising team drops a fresh assortment across studio locations and their online store, blending fashion and function in a way that reflects their core values: balance, strength, and intentionality.

Pulling off this level of consistent excellence requires a full-scale, centralized operation. We're talking months-ahead color story planning, custom fabric knitting, coordinated pre-orders with franchisees, manufacturing and distribution to over a hundred studios, and branded photoshoots for both e-commerce and social media.

It’s the kind of operation that only works with trusted partners—and we’re proud to be one of them.

But that kind of trust isn’t built overnight.

Scouting for the Signature Legging

We first connected with barre3’s VP of Retail in 2018 at a trade show in California. At the time, they already had strong partnerships in place—co-branded collections with Lululemon and Beyond Yoga, and a reliable private-label tank program. But they were missing one essential piece: their dream legging.

Her mission that day was clear—to find the perfect fabric and partner to bring barre3’s Signature Legging to life.

Good... But Not Good Enough

At the time, Tokalon focused heavily on Colombian fabrics, leveraging the U.S.–Colombia free trade agreement to deliver high-quality activewear at competitive prices. But there was one problem: none of the Colombian mills offered a legging fabric that met barre3’s elevated standards.

The good news? We had a strong hunch where to find exactly what she was looking for.

Global Sourcing, Elevated Results

In our experience, the best performance fabrics in the world come from two places: Italy and Taiwan. So we went deep into our archives and ordered dozens of swatches from top-tier mills—fabrics that combined luxurious feel with serious performance.

After several rounds of sampling and rigorous wear testing by the barre3 team, we landed on the perfect material, paired it with a dialed-in fit, and the barre3 Signature Legging was officially born.

A Launch Against All Odds

The first shipment of Signature Leggings was slated to hit stores in March 2020—just as COVID-19 shut down in-person fitness worldwide.

You’d think that would’ve spelled disaster. But instead, something amazing happened.

Franchise owners embraced the new product with passion, promoting it heavily on social media. Even with studios closed, leggings flew off the racks. In fact, we spent the rest of 2020 racing to keep up with demand—limited only by how quickly we could get our hands on more fabric.

Since that first launch, we’ve worked with the barre3 team to build a complete private-label assortment: leggings, bras, tanks, tees, joggers, pullovers, and accessories—all designed with their community and movement philosophy in mind.

It’s been an incredible journey, and to this day, we hold up barre3 as the gold standard for retail in boutique fitness.

A Bit More

To dive deeper into the Signature Legging story, check out the feature on B3 Magazine.

Curious about how barre3 got started? Listen to Sadie Lincoln’s interview on NPR’s How I Built This for a behind-the-scenes look at her mission and mindset.

And of course, don’t forget to explore the latest barre3 collections on the B3 Shop. (We may be biased, but we think they’ve never looked better.)