Who built the VERSUS brand?

close friends., a creative studio based in Sofia, developed VERSUS's positioning, logo and visual identity, Shopify store, films, social media and creator programme for Made in Italy Collection 01.

How do you build an activewear brand from scratch?

Start with a position people can feel, then shape everything they see around it. For VERSUS, the name became a rivalry every woman who trains knows, her against her own limits. The identity, store, films and creator programme all grew from that one tension.

How do you market a technical fabric?

Translate the science into a sensation. Most customers don't know what far infrared is, but everyone knows body heat. For VERSUS, every explanation of the fabric opens with warmth, leads with how it feels and avoids medical claims.

How should a new brand work with creators?

Reward results, not single posts. Creators who grow with the brand have a reason to stay, and the brand can see what each one brings. For VERSUS, we designed a three-level programme and matched each creator to the set that fits her lifestyle.

How should a new brand plan its first Black Friday?

As one connected campaign, not just a discount. A new brand can't outspend established ones, so the plan has to fit its stage and budget. For VERSUS, we planned its first Black Friday and Cyber Monday around exactly that.

Brand building ✦

VERSUS.

Building a women's activewear brand from the ground up

After nearly 15 years in sportswear production, VERSUS's founder had a Made in Italy collection she believed in, created by women for women, in a seamless fabric that works with body heat.

She had a name too, but no visual identity, online store or audience. Today, VERSUS is one women can find, understand, buy and see on women like them.

By close friends.

Before and after

0 of 6 turned. tap a card to see where it started.

The challenge

Why choose a brand you've never heard of?

VERSUS entered a competitive activewear market with no established audience. The collection had Made in Italy production and a technical seamless fabric, but women had no reason yet to trust an unfamiliar name at a premium price.

VERSUS needed to earn trust, establish a distinctive position and explain what photographs couldn't show, how its technical fabric works with body heat.

Earn trust
Establish a distinctive position
Explain what photographs couldn't show

A woman in the purple VERSUS set, seated — what a photograph can't show.

How VERSUS took shape

1 of 5
A name with meaning and a brand book.
We positioned VERSUS for women who already take their training seriously. They didn't need another brand telling them to push harder. They wanted activewear that matched the standards they already hold themselves to.
The name already held that idea. You vs. your limits. You vs. yesterday. Training vs. recovery.
We developed the visual identity, from four logo directions to the final wordmark, and defined the brand's tone of voice in a brand book. The statement "Designed for women who expect more from what they wear" brought the positioning together.
Collection 01 became three states of the same woman, black for discipline, purple for recovery and aqua for flow.
Brand bookopen me →
The name
You vs. your limits.
You vs. yesterday.
Training vs. recovery.
the name already held the idea.
Who it's for
Women who already take their training seriously.
Activewear that matches the standards they already hold themselves to.
The wordmark
1234→ 1
four logo directions to the final wordmark.
Collection 01
discipline
recovery
flow
three states of the same woman.
Tone of voice
“Designed for women who expect more from what they wear.”
the statement that brought the positioning together.
← back to the start
cover
2 of 5
A fabric women can understand.
The fabric was VERSUS's biggest advantage and its biggest risk. Explained badly, it sounds like a gimmick. Promised too hard, it sounds like a medical claim. We translated it into something every woman already knows, body heat, and led with how it feels.
That one explanation now runs through the films, the creators, the social feed and the Shopify store, which answers the questions that stop a woman buying before she has to ask them.
versusmove.com/products/crop-top-violet
3 of 5
Established from day one.
A new brand needs to look and sound consistent wherever women find it. We produced three brand films that introduce the collection through confidence, recovery and expert credibility. Alongside them, we developed a social media strategy built on seven content pillars, connecting product education, lifestyle and performance through one creative direction.
versuspillar 1 of 7
7content pillars, one creative direction
- ▶confidence
- ▶recovery
- ▶expert credibility
three brand films. tap the phone for the next post.
4 of 5
Women who wear it.
For an unfamiliar brand, seeing the collection worn by different women helps others picture it in their own lives. We built a three-level creator programme across fitness, pilates and wellness, supported by trainers and designed to reward real results, and matched each creator to the set that fits her life.
Then VERSUS stepped off the screen, with a stand at BALKANIADA, an endurance race in Karlovo.
Creator programme · rewards real results
1. Level 1
2. Level 2
3. Level 3
- fitness
- pilates
- wellness
- matched to her set.
KarlovoBALKANIADAendurance race
the stand. tap for the next.
5 of 5
Ready for its first sales season.
For a new premium brand, the first major promotion needs to create interest without making the discount the main reason to buy.
We planned VERSUS's first Black Friday and Cyber Monday as one connected campaign, aligning the offer, the store and the ads with the brand's position and budget.
Black Friday + Cyber Monday
one campaign
aligned with the brand's position and budget.

The result ✦

A brand, not just a collection

VERSUS went from a collection and a name to a brand with a clear position, an identity, a store, films, a creator network and its first live event. Whether a woman visits the Shopify store, watches a brand film or finds VERSUS at BALKANIADA, she meets the same identity and message.

Designed for women who expect more from what they wear.

same identity. same message.

The collection was already there. We built the brand around it.

Activewear branding FAQ

the short answers.

close friends., a creative studio based in Sofia, developed VERSUS's positioning, logo and visual identity, Shopify store, films, social media and creator programme for Made in Italy Collection 01.
Start with a position people can feel, then shape everything they see around it. For VERSUS, the name became a rivalry every woman who trains knows, her against her own limits. The identity, store, films and creator programme all grew from that one tension.
Translate the science into a sensation. Most customers don't know what far infrared is, but everyone knows body heat. For VERSUS, every explanation of the fabric opens with warmth, leads with how it feels and avoids medical claims.
Reward results, not single posts. Creators who grow with the brand have a reason to stay, and the brand can see what each one brings. For VERSUS, we designed a three-level programme and matched each creator to the set that fits her lifestyle.
As one connected campaign, not just a discount. A new brand can't outspend established ones, so the plan has to fit its stage and budget. For VERSUS, we planned its first Black Friday and Cyber Monday around exactly that.