Why on earth is a menswear brand hosting runs?

Men's fashion brand 3sixteen hosted its second series of running events this summer. Is this an indicator of how mainstream running has become?

Has running culture bled into the mainstream to the point that it’s just another double-page spread in men’s lifestyle magazines now? Kinda.

That’s what we’re talking about when we’re talking about running culture going mainstream. We’re talking about running being a newsworthy-enough subculture to regularly feature in mainstream newspapers, just like rock music. We’re talking about running being as normal as selvedge denim, craft beer, vinyl records, and small-batch coffee.

All of those are things that 3sixteen, a 21-year-old New York-based menswear brand have featured in their Manhattan flagship store – a place that stocks clothes that are almost heirloom pieces; clothes that you expect to spend serious money on, but you also expect to wear them forever, maybe. They hosted their second annual Summer Series of three monthly runs from that Nolita base. I spoke to founder Andrew Chen about how he got to the point that running was the next corner of culture that his brand explored.

Leading…