10 Minutes With An Activewear Entrepreneur

10 Minutes With An Activewear Entrepreneur

From bodysuits to high performance layers, Ernest Leoty is a brand to know for luxe activewear. We sat down with Marion Rabate to chat workout regimes, business highs and lows, and her hero pieces…

CREATED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ERNEST LEOTY

My day always starts with checking my emails and looking at Instagram – not very zen I know. Then I read the news and get ready for the day.

For breakfast I usually have a flat white from HEM (a nearby coffee shop) and a porridge or croissant from Pret. On the weekend, I usually cook a big breakfast with eggs, pancakes with blueberries or bananas, and sometimes porridge. 

My most-worn piece has to be our Leoty corset leggings in black – they’re so comfy and go with everything – and these days, our Ombeline roll neck in black. In the summer, it’s usually jeans from LE JEAN and a white J Crew t-shirt. 

The piece I’m living in right now is our Noemie Hoodie in blush. It’s the kind of colour I wouldn’t usually wear, but I love the super soft peachy shade and that they're warm and comfy. Great for lockdown…

No working day is complete without checking our Instagram, our e-commerce platform and making some team calls.

Lately, I’ve been working out far less. But we recently invested in a Peloton bike and I really love it – there are so many workouts to choose from. I used to do KXU spinning classes prior to the pandemic.

My favourite Ernest Leoty piece is my Ilona Bodysuit in cerise and prune. It is really a ‘treat’ piece – comfy but also super sexy and flattering, it pulls you in all the right places and has a great neckline. It’s ideal for yoga but also for everyday. For me, it represents the essence of Leoty as a brand.

The idea for the business came about because I couldn’t find the type of activewear I wanted. Feminine pieces, in soft, good quality fabrics, muted colours, and items you could wear every day. I also wanted to have my own business, something where I could combine my love of business and my more creative side. 

The most challenging part of my job is the intensity. There is no day off, it is completely time and mind consuming and sometimes, it can be difficult to switch off.

 

<a href="https://ernestleoty.com/collections/all/products/noemie-hoodie-blush?ut…; target="_blank"><u style="font-size: 15px;">Noemie Hoodie, £140, Ernest Leoty</u></a><br /><a href="https://ernestleoty.com/products/ilona-bodysuit-red-cerise?utm_source=S…; target="_blank"><u style="font-size: 15px;">Ilona Bodysuit, £180, Ernest Leoty</u></a><br /><u style="font-size: 15px;"><a href="https://www.onepeloton.co.uk/bikes&quot; target="_blank">Peloton Bike, £1,750 (was £1,900), Peloton</a></u><br /><u style="font-size: 15px;"><a href="https://www.codageparis.com/en/serum-n1-10ml.html&quot; target="_blank">Serum No.1, €35, Codage</a></u><br /><u style="font-size: 15px;"><a href="https://uk.nuxe.com/nuxuriance-ultra/anti-ageing-night-cream-nuxuriance…; target="_blank">Night Cream Nuxuriance® Ultra, £45.50, NUXE</a></u>

The idea for the business came about because I couldn’t find the type of activewear I wanted. Feminine pieces, in soft, good quality fabrics, muted colours, and items you could wear every day.

The new launch I’m most excited about is our print capsule collection coming out in June next year. It will show a new side of Ernest Leoty – the fun and colourful side. I have so many ideas and can’t wait to see them come to life. It has to be one of the most rewarding parts of my job. 

At the end of the day, I wind down by changing into comfy clothes, taking a hot shower or bath, cooking a nice dinner and watching something on Netflix. Outside of lockdown, I've loved catching up with friends – recently we’ve been trying to do it virtually.

My night time beauty routine always includes removing my makeup with an ‘eau micellaire’ or micellar water, a face serum by CODAGE, and a night cream by NUXE.

If I have trouble sleeping, I meditate using Insight Timer. I find what I do extremely fulfilling (I used to work in finance and made the career change to pursue something I was passionate about), so I consider myself very lucky. I try and live day-to-day and not worry about the future too much.

The future looks really exciting. There are so many different ideas and opportunities for the brand, and I can’t wait to see what it all holds. 
 

Shop three of Marion's go-to products below...

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