Samantha Ruth Prabhu on Designing for a Life in Motion

In a market flooded with celebrity-backed labels and algorithm-approved activewear, it takes more than good timing to stand out. Samantha Ruth Prabhu’s Mile Collective enters a space that’s already crowded, and increasingly sceptical. After all, the activewear boom has seen everything from high-performance gear that feels almost exclusionary to athleisure that looks the part but rarely holds up beyond a coffee run.

What Mile seems to be tapping into is that in-between. A wardrobe for women whose lives don’t neatly split into ‘workout’ and ‘everything else.’ And perhaps that’s where the brand tries to differentiate itself, leaning into fluidity over performance.

In conversation with LuxeBook, Ruth Prabhu speaks about building Mile from a place of personal need rather than market opportunity; why functionality felt like a missing piece in the current landscape, how movement became a way of finding stillness, and designing for a life in motion. Read on.

LuxeBook: Mile Collective enters a crowded activewear space. What gap did you feel wasn’t being addressed when you decided to build this brand?

Samantha Ruth Prabhu: The activewear market is divided into two extremes: high-performance gear that felt intimidating, or fast fashion athleisure that looked good but failed during a real workout. There was a lack of functionality. I wanted to build Mile for the woman who doesn’t just go to the gym, but who moves through a demanding, multifaceted life.

LuxeBook: For you, what does movement mean beyond fitness, and how has that idea shaped Mile Collective’s philosophy?

Samantha Ruth Prabhu: Movement is how I process emotion, how I find stillness in the chaos. At Mile, our philosophy isn’t “train to transform”; it’s “move to belong to yourself.” That shift from aesthetic-driven to internal-driven is the heartbeat of the brand.

LuxeBook: Activewear today often blurs into lifestyle dressing. How intentional was that crossover in your design process?

Samantha Ruth Prabhu: The blur was entirely intentional. My life doesn’t happen in silos I’m often heading from a shoot to a meeting to a flight. We designed the collection with a studio-to-street fluidity, focusing on sophisticated palettes and silhouettes that don’t scream “gym” when you add a jacket over it. It’s about efficiency without sacrificing elegance.

LuxeBook: Do you see Mile Collective remaining purely product-led, or expanding into experiences, movement spaces or wellness conversations?

Samantha Ruth Prabhu: Product is our foundation, but Mile was never meant to be just a label. I see it as a community-first ecosystem. We are already looking at movement workshops, wellness retreats, and digital spaces where we can have raw conversations about health. I want Mile to be the third space in people’s lives somewhere between home and work where they find their tribe.

LuxeBook: What’s next for the brand?

Samantha Ruth Prabhu: We’re just getting started, and the roadmap is incredibly exciting. We are moving beyond our foundation to explore categories we haven’t tapped into yet. We’re also focusing on expanding our silhouettes; we want to move beyond standard fits to offer pieces that play with structure, drape, and proportion, ensuring there’s a Mile piece for every body type and every mood. We aren’t looking to grow fast just for the sake of it; we’re looking to grow wide and deep, filling the gaps in your lifestyle with thoughtful, high-quality essentials.

P.S: I wore some of the pieces by Mile Collective as my daily go-to for workouts, and trust me, it fits like a second skin. You know those awkward crease lines and bunching that show up with most activewear? That’s almost absent here. Whether you’re a seasoned gym-goer or just getting started, it’s the kind of gear that quietly does its job and the colours alone are enough motivation to get you moving on days you’d rather skip.

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