Oscar winner Hilary Swank is back from a self-imposed career hiatus with a new athleisure line called Mission Statement.
The star of Million Dollar Baby and Boys Don’t Cry had been taking time out to look after her sick dad Stephen, who recently underwent a double lung transplant.
Hilary’s new collection includes jackets, sports bras, dresses and is a mix of “high performance and high fashion”.
“I’ve had this idea percolating and evolving in my mind for a while, but I have only been actively working on it for the past few years,” Hilary, 42, tells PEOPLE.
“I didn’t want to approach this as a hobby or side project. For me, this was just a natural extension of my own approach to life and then also realising I wasn’t alone in this desire to have clothing that transitioned naturally from my workouts into my day.
“Every piece that was designed has a very specific function but allows for that seamless transition. The entire line is designed around this premise.”
Hilary says the name Mission Statement is intended to be taken literally and double as a mantra.
“The underlying purpose in creating the line was to pay homage to women who have extraordinary ideas, ambition, focus and a love for living a full, authentic life,” she adds.
“With that in mind, I wanted to design versatile clothing for women who live by this same mantra every day.
“We want to recognise and encourage women for their strength and ability to not only work towards their fullest potential but who also inspire others to do the same.
“I have always had the perspective that women need to look within for the answers that guide them to live their truest most authentic selves, to identify their personal Mission Statement and dress for how they want to feel.”
Although there are other crossover fitness-fashion brands already in the market, Hilary feels none have hit the mark.
“You’re really still wearing your workout clothes. I wanted to create a line of high-performance clothing that seamlessly meets a high-fashion aesthetic.”
The debut collection of Mission Statement (starting at US$125 for sports bras to $1,150 for a leather jacket) includes surprising city-chic pieces, like washable leather pants, on-trend jackets that just happen to be made in a high-performance fabric, and temperature-regulating cashmere tops.
Hilary’s key styling tools for pulling off aesthetic wear is all in the layering—which she calls “cloud layering”—i.e. the signature pieces that work stylishly on their own, but effortlessly together as “an ethereal but powerful foundation for the perfect degree of temperature control,” she explains.