ar, and now, she’s poised to lead the next chapter with fresh energy and renewed purpose,” the company stated in a public release.  Haney announced that she and the rest of the Outdoor Voices team had reassembled the brand’s original creative team, while adding in a few new players, for the brand’s first collection since her return, which became available to the public on August 5. “Over the last nine or so months, we’ve been working on the product — the uniform for doing things — and it has a lot of the same sensibility as original OV in terms of material meant to move, technically credible, functional. I think you’re really going to like it,” said Haney. While some retail experts, like SageBerry Consulting president and founder Steve Dennis, were skeptical about Haney’s round two with the company, others, like Global Data’s managing director Neil Saunders, were more optimistic about the founder’s chances of reviving the brand’s “it girl” status in the athleisure space.  “Having Consortium Brand Partners as a parent brings some stability to Outdoor Voices and gives the brand scope to develop and grow,” Saunders told Inside Retail. What happened with Outdoor Voices? Saunders noted that Outdoor Voices had an interesting proposition when it first launched into the retail scene in 2013. Its sporty, but feminine pieces leaned into the boom of athleisure wear.  “It was never an unpopular brand; indeed, it had a solid group of fans. The main problem was with the expensive store costs, which put a huge hole in the finances,” Saunders said. “If it is to succeed, it needs to strike a balance between good distribution and keeping costs firmly under control – that means using e-commerce very effectively and being selective about stores. That’s easier said than done in today’s crowded market.” On a more positive note, Saunders said that Haney’s vision would help to differentiate the brand and ensure it has a distinct voice. Meanwhile, Retail Strategy Group’s Liza Amlani remarked that the consumer and industry hype about Haney’s revival indicates potential for the brand’s comeback.  “If the goal was to jolt the brand with a shot of adrenaline, mission accomplished,” Amlani stated. “The real test is whether the new assortment will sell and whether those results will be shared with equal vigour and enthusiasm. For now, Haney and Consortium Brand Partners are in the honeymoon phase. The true measure of their partnership will come if early excitement doesn’t translate into increasing and (eventually) sustained momentum, at which point comes the risk of organisational dysfunction,” she said.  From a merchandising standpoint, Amlani commented that the current assortment feels disjointed, with colours, prints and silhouettes that don’t work cohesively.  “A strong collection should balance core and fashion pieces, with colours and prints designed to be mixed and matched. Competitors like Lululemon, Alo and Sweaty Betty excel here, operating across both DTC and wholesale channels, backed by loyal communities built around activity and lifestyle. Competition in the athleisure space signals consumer demand but the offer must be compelling. Outdoor Voices will need sharper merchandising, styling, and operational discipline to compete,” she said. “Ty’s return brings excitement and a surge of nostalgia, opening a clear window of opportunity. But if the brand stumbles early, that window could close just as quickly.”   Can Outdoor Voices get back its “it girl” status? Naomi Omamuli Emiko, founder and owner of TNGE, a marketing agency and a growth studio built to accelerate beauty and wellness brands, described the relaunch as both a revival and a strategic brand reset. “It leans heavily into founder nostalgia and community reconnection to rebuild cultural equity,” she said. By wiping the brand’s Instagram feed clean, reassembling some of the original creative team and soft-launching the collection first to Haney’s Try Your Best community, Emiko said the brand staged a clean break from the turbulence of the founder’s years away from the company.  “From a business standpoint, starting with a tightly controlled drop reflects a cautious, brand-first growth plan that has the potential to lay the foundation for a successful blend of brand heritage with a ‘fashion-y’ refresh. This could capture younger, style-conscious activewear customers while retaining loyalists who bought into its movement-meets-lifestyle positioning,” she said.  To stand out sustainably in today’s crowded athleisure market, Emiko believes Outdoor Voices will need to lean into its core differentiators, functional, movement-ready products paired with lifestyle storytelling. “Strategic collaborations, innovative product design and targeted community activations for Gen Z and millennials could amplify relevance and drive engagement beyond its core fanbase,” she said. “If successful, Outdoor Voice’s comeback could serve as a case study in how founder-led storytelling and heritage-first product can restore relevance to a beloved DTC brand.” However, “if it falls flat, it risks being seen as just another nostalgia play in an increasingly crowded activewear market,” Emiko concluded.