IRDC 2011 is still six months away, but it’s not too early to start a list of new and interesting retail to check out while you’re in San Francisco.

The first store on our list has our marathon-running marketing director stoked. It’s the Athleta flagship, which debuted in January on Fillmore Street, one of San Francisco’s great neighborhood retail and entertainment districts.

Headquartered in Petaluma, CA and acquired by Gap Inc. in 2008, Athleta operated as a catalog and online business for 12 years before making the leap to bricks and mortar.

Literally. The 5,000-square-foot store features brick walls, wood trim and floors, vintage-style lighting and rough-hewn fixtures on casters. The brand’s sports and fitness apparel is showcased on custom-made mannequins molded from the body of Athleta model and real-life athlete Danielle Halverson, who’s been featured in Runner’s World, Shape and Women’s Health.

Athleta store designers collaborated with Broomfield, CO-based Fusion Specialties to create the “Daniquins,” digitally scanning Dani in various action sequences and static poses. From these scans a fiberglass prototype was developed, then seven on-site sculptors went to work hand-etching the finer details of Dani’s physique in clay.

Stay tuned for more store profiles—and a closer look at Fillmore Street retail—as the conference draws closer.

ATHLETA
2226 Fillmore Street
415.345.8501
M-F 10-7 | SAT 10-6 | SUN 11-5