Tunde Oyeneyin may be one of Peloton’s most popular instructors as well as a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, but she’ll never forgot what it was like growing up overweight.
“I was heavier growing up; I was also very insecure about my body,” she said. “I didn’t learn to swim until I was an adult because I never wanted to take my T-shirt off. When I was younger, I did everything to hide myself. I didn’t laugh too loud, because I felt if I laughed out loud, people would see me, and if people saw me, they’d see my size. I love dancing but I never danced because I thought if I danced, people are going to see me. I don’t want to be seen. I did everything to try to move through the world invisibly. But this collection is the antithesis to that.”
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This “collection” is the Tunde x Peloton line that is launching Tuesday. The 41-piece line for women and men follows the successful drop of Peloton’s Robin Arzón cobranded collection last fall that sold out completely, according to the company. Arzon is the company’s vice president of fitness programming and head instructor.
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The Tunde x Peloton collection is a limited-edition assortment of colorful sports and lifestyle pieces that include statement bras and tops designed to accentuate the back and neckline, sculpting leggings and shorts with “booty-pop” seam detailing, and zippered dresses in mini and maxi silhouettes. There’s also a leopard print capsule that features a catsuit, multiple bra styles, leggings, biker shorts and unisex sweats.
And for the men, lightweight performance tanks and shorts are part of the offering. The shorts are short enough to “show off a little bit more of the leg and nice quad that they’re working so hard for in the gym,” she said, “but they allow them to move freely in a squat or a deadlift.”
The collection marks the first time that Peloton has offered swimwear.
“Last year, I was named as Sports Illustrated rookie and walked during Miami Swim Week for Sports Illustrated, so it felt natural,” she said. “It’s part of who I am now.”
With the swimwear, as well as the rest of the collection, “it’s about empowering women to feel comfortable in their bodies,” Oyeneyin explained. The color palette is bold — cobalt blue, magenta, red, and the leopard print — and intended to help women “feel free in being seen,” she said. “This is almost a love letter to my younger self.”
Oyeneyin, who was a makeup artist before getting into the fitness world, worked with the Peloton design team to create the cobranded collection. “It was really great to collaborate with Peloton and our apparel team on this,” she said. “What I found most fascinating about the entire process is I don’t think I knew how hands-on I was going to be when I said ‘yes’ to this. In the initial conversations, I said, ‘I want this to be me. I want this to feel like me. I want this to look like me. I don’t want to just put my name on pieces that have already been created.’ And the best part about this entire process is how Peloton gave me free rein to develop the line. We’re talking cut, fabric, texture.”
She leaned into her skills as a makeup artist as well. “I came from the cosmetic world, so my eye for detail is my superpower.”
She said while designing the collection, “we went back and forth on the pieces because I wanted to get it right,” she said. “Yes, there’s a low plunge in a swimsuit, but it’s the most supportive plunge and it’s a higher cut on the hip line. I think a neckline is the most beautiful detail on a woman, as well as the back. So there are a lot of necklines and backs out. And there’s a really specific cut to all of the bottoms that really help to plump and lift the look of the derriere. And then there’s no seam in the front of the pants which makes for a softer, smoother effect from the tummy down to the hip line.”
She said that while it’s hard to pick a favorite piece, the leopard swimsuit and the catsuit are on the top of her list.
In addition to her fashion and makeup work, Oyeneyin is the author of: “Speak: Find Your Voice, Trust Your Gut and Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be,” a memoir-manifesto about her life journey.
“I remember being a little girl clothes didn’t come in my size, or I didn’t feel comfortable, so I had to manipulate and pin and tuck and think outside of the box,” she recalled. And when she got older, she got creative and turned skirts into tube tops and twisted other pieces to “display and showcase my style,” she said. ”But I’ve never done it at a level like this.”
The Tunde x Peloton capsule will retail for $69 to $149 and will be sold on the company’s e-commerce site and at its retail stores beginning Tuesday.
This line does not replace Peloton’s branded apparel that it sells on its channels as well as at Nordstrom.
Oyeneyin is featured in the promotional materials for her collection alongside fellow Peloton instructors Alex Toussiant and Rad Lopez, who model the menswear.
Oyeneyin is open to continuing the collection in the future if it connects with customers. “Let’s let the power of the people determine that,” she said. “Hopefully the collection does well, and people feel as good as they look in the clothing. That will dictate any further conversation.”
After a few years of struggling trying to regain its footing after a pandemic-fueled surge, Pelton last week posted net income of $26.4 million in the third quarter, against a $47.7 million loss the year before. Sales inched up 1 percent to $631 million.