California Apparel News

It’s the latest craze sweeping the nation. No, it’s not the hula hoop—this isn’t 1958, after all—but rather pickleball, the sport that has a silly name but offers serious fun. It’s also serious business for identical twins Ashley Cornil and Sara Brady, who founded Le Pickle Club in 2022 in San Francisco after selling their hat brand Kin The Label, which they operated for nine years.

The California Apparel News recently spoke to the sisters to learn about their fashion line and unravel the appeal of America’s fastest-growing sport.

CAN: First off, what’s the sister dynamic like when it comes to running a business?

AC: We’ve been best friends since we were born, so we understand each other’s strengths, and this lends well to business. I specialize more in the strategy side of things and big picture, whereas Sara takes on more of the creative director role. We have a nice marriage of amplifying each other, and it’s a testament to being twins that we can step in when aquired without even needing verbal communication. We have different points of view but love the same aesthetic: a modern, energetic vibe but with a vintage flair in art and culture, fashion and life.

CAN: Tell us about the inspiration for the line, especially the French influence.

AC: We’re fortunate to spend our summers in France, and the French have that je ne sais quoi allure. And there’s also the juxtaposition of this fun, new social sport that’s playful with French sophistication.

CAN: What was the vision for this new company?

SB: With Kin The Label and the hat industry, things touch close to 70 hands, so it was a very long, romantic process, and that’s how we fell in love with it. But at $300 it was also a high price point, so for this new business we wanted to do something completely different. So, while every T-shirt, sweatshirt and hat is made to order, they’re very simple; these aren’t meant to be $100 T-shirts. They’re breathable and are printed close to where they ship for product-life-cycle reasons. We just wanted it to be carefree, for women and men to wear it on the court and feel comfortable and then go for a glass of wine and still feel fashion forward.

CAN: What lessons did you take from your previous business?

SB: It’s the best university you can have. They say your second brand is where everything is fluid and easy, and again here we wanted something really simple: print on demand, a low barrier to entry and with the design the face of it. And with those components we built a brand that is very strong. Our previous brand was timeless and sophisticated, but with this one we come out really loud. We want people to notice our customers and ask, “Where’d you get that?”

CAN: The Olympics are in Paris this summer, and you’ve paid tribute with even more French influence in “Le Olympic Collection.”

AC: Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport here in the U.S., and the Olympics are the epitome of sport. As pickleball players, we all aspire that one day it will be a sport we can watch. So the collection is a patriotic ode to those who work their whole lives at a sport—with the tongue-in-cheek feeling the brand has—but also a nod to whether pickleball could be included in the Los Angeles Olympics of 2028.

CAN: Tell us about the appeal of this sport with the funny name.

AC: First and foremost there’s a low barrier to entry. My 7-year-old son and 80-year-old father can pick up a racket and play. And that’s a true story because we all play as a family. So there’s the social aspect of the sport. With tennis, you have to be good at it to enjoy the game, but this is something you can pick up and not take too seriously. So the appeal of pickleball is that it’s accessible to a lot of different people who want to be social and also have a healthy lifestyle, and I think that’s why the growth has been exponential.