April 16, 2025
Our Story on Monocle Radio
Oliver Powe on the Philosophy Behind Acid Running
Hector Powe - Dress Wear A/W 1936
A Family Affair
Our founder, Oliver Powe, recently sat down with Monocle Radio to share the story and inspiration behind Acid Running. Discussing his family’s tailoring house that began in 1908, to building a luxury running brand, it’s a conversation about legacy, heritage and the paradoxes of running.
Hector Powe Regent St store (Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Procession, 1953)
In 1908, Oliver’s great-grandfather and brothers opened Hector Powe in the City of London.
What began as a small, family-run business quickly became a luxury brand known for its sharp, athletic tailoring, refined by the war and shaped by the men who returned from it.
WWII Officers’ Uniforms by Hector Powe
Form & Function
This was the origin of the “HP Cut”, a silhouette that brought form and function together.
Hector Powe was eventually merged with Burberry, but the legacy of the family craft continues.
Burberry Equestrian Knight (the Hector Powe brand operated within Burberry until the 1990s).
Redefining Running
“We felt the industry was stuck in an antiquated understanding of running as purely a competitive and a track sport.”
Oliver explained that he was determined to break free of the sterile elitism of running to express something deeper:
Running as ritual, running as philosophy, running as a contradiction between clarity and chaos.
The Community That Found Us
At some point, it stopped being just a brand.
"The most surreal moment? When people started sending us pictures of their Acid tattoos."
We didn’t invent the idea, we just gave it a name.
