Introduction

With the growing popularity of outdoor and sports trends in recent years, whether it’s Arc’teryx, a leading brand in the high-end industry, continuing to shine, or the rapid growth of niche emerging forces like Norda and Soar, more and more brands have reaped great rewards in this field.

Ciele athletics is also a very fresh and dazzling name. It became a hit on social media all over the orld with just a hat, and its popularity has only grown stronger in just a few years. But what they have accomplished is far more than we imagine. Today, let’s take a look at what makes this “hat king” Ciele so appealing.

Why is Ciele So Popular?

Diverse Designs & Color Pairings

If you frequently browse Instagram, you may have noticed this type of hat: a five-panel design, lightweight and brightly colored, with the eye-catching “ciele” logo printed on the front. Its appearance rate is astonishing: instead of showing off a pair of running shoes, everyone on social media is showing off their own caps.

Even if you’ve never seen it before, you can’t take your eyes off its visually striking design: bold color blocking and a variety of patterns make each hat an eye-catcher. In the running communities of Europe and America, Ciele athletics has already become a rising star.

As you can see, Instagram is already flooded with colorful Ciele hat photos, and even the brand’s official account has amassed over 130,000 followers. Since its inception, Ciele has sold over one million hats, available in more than 1,300 stores across 43 countries worldwide. Its popularity has exploded in the last two or three years, with Believe in the Run recognizing Ciele’s GOCap as one of the “iconic running caps” in 2021.

At road races from New York and London to Tokyo, Ciele hats are a common sight. Some even joke, “During marathon warm-ups, you can spot someone wearing a Ciele from ten meters away.” In China, many users on Xiaohongshu (a Chinese social media platform) have shared their running outfits featuring Ciele hats, with related topics garnering 780,000 views. Suddenly, under the colorful brims of these hats, runners of different skin colors and time zones have forged a wonderful connection through photos of themselves wearing Ciele hats.

So what’s the secret to Ciele’s hat’s explosive popularity? One reason is undoubtedly its ability to perfectly capture the pulse of fashion trends in terms of aesthetics. While all the running hats on the market pursue ultimate functionality at the expense of monotony, Ciele has gone against the grain, choosing red, orange, yellow, and green in a battle of black, white, and gray.

Whether it’s the contrasting colors of red and white or the fusion of purple and yellow, this highly saturated color palette design brings a visible sense of vitality to the hat itself, exuding a vibrant, adrenaline-fueled energy. The brand’s vision is not simply for people to run, but for them to “dance freely” on asphalt roads, lawns, and mountains.

After all, even if we’re not the fastest runners, we still want to look stylish. As co-founder Bresnen said, “People usually compliment the hat on its appearance first, then are surprised to find out, ‘Oh, you can run in this hat?’”

Function Meets Style

On the other hand, the deeper reason for Ciele’s hat’s popularity lies in its superior professional performance. While “good looks are everything” may bring temporary attention, to truly win over runners in the long run, the product’s capabilities must be truly excellent.

It can be seen that Ciele hats address almost all the pain points of runners:

• The lightweight and breathable fabric dries quickly after being soaked in sweat;
• The built-in sweatband prevents sweat from dripping into the eyes;
• The UV-resistant material provides UPF 40+ sun protection;
• The brim is made of flexible foam material, which can be easily folded and stuffed into a pocket without deforming;
• Unlike ordinary hard-brimmed hats, it does not press uncomfortably on the forehead.

All these clever design details are hidden beneath the bright and playful exterior, allowing the Ciele running cap to achieve a perfect balance of “good looks and practicality.” Through a series of combined effects, it has become a kind of “social currency” among runners today.

Built on Running Culture

Back in 2014, when the brand was first established, Ciele’s running caps already garnered a small following. At the time, a standard GOCap cap cost $50, which wasn’t particularly cheap for a running cap, but it still attracted many runners to buy them spontaneously. If the vibrant colors and powerful functionality helped Ciele running caps quickly become popular, then the culture and community significance they embody have ensured the trend’s enduring popularity.

First, Ciele has created an unforgettable brand identity through its hats. It’s no exaggeration to say that if you see someone running on the city streets wearing a brightly colored five-panel hat, you’d probably guess it’s a Ciele—this clear recognizability creates a sense of connection even among strangers running together; the hat seems to become a common language, instantly bridging the gap between them.

Ciele has also actively invested in building its community culture. From opening a physical store in Montreal early on and organizing weekly running events, to creating an interactive “Running With Friends+” map on its official website that lists running organizations in various locations that welcome the LGBTQ+ community, and its long-term partnership with PUMA to support youth LGBTQ charity projects, Ciele has consistently integrated “community” into its brand identity.

Behind these phenomena lies the open and inclusive community atmosphere cultivated by the brand. Currently, many niche, high-end brands have emerged in the sports equipment industry, some deliberately emphasizing an elite atmosphere to create a sense of superiority among consumers, akin to a “class barrier.” However, Ciele never promotes elitism or creates a sense of aloofness.

Instead, it seeks resonance among runners based on shared sporting values, rooted in running culture , and advocating the concept of “one hat connecting runners worldwide”—if you love running, we’re all on the same path.

From products to culture, Ciele has always told a story about the runner community, whether it was during the social media boom of 2014 or the current surge in outdoor sports popularity. As Ciele’s new CEO stated in an interview : “Running has undergone a fundamental cultural shift. It’s no longer just about performance and pace; it’s also about expression, self-identity, and connection.”

A complete equipment matrix evolved from a cap

Starting with the wildly popular hat, let’s zoom out a bit and take a look at Ciele’s overall picture and ambitions.

In 2014, founders Jeremy Bresnen and Mike Giles, driven by their passion for running and design, conceived the idea for their business. They noticed that most running caps on the market were poorly designed, merely race giveaways, and almost no one was taking this niche market seriously. So, they started from scratch to create a cap that “we ourselves would want to wear while running, and even in everyday life.”

Ciele Athletics was born, its name derived from the French word “Ciel” (sky), symbolizing the vast sky above a runner’s head. While all other brands focused solely on runners’ feet, this Montreal-based company took a different approach, targeting the head.

In the years that followed, Ciele’s product line expanded significantly. Currently, the brand offers multiple hat styles, including the GOCap, ALZCap (small brim), FSTCap (racing style), and TRLCap (high-top trucker hat style), as well as bucket hats, sun visors, and winter beanies. The brand now provides approximately 200 different hat styles, covering almost everything a runner needs throughout the year.

In the following years, Ciele’s product line expanded significantly. Currently, the brand offers multiple hat styles, including the GOCap, ALZCap (small brim), FSTCap (racing style), and TRLCap (high-top trucker hat style), as well as bucket hats, sun visors, and winter beanies. The brand now provides approximately 200 different hat styles, covering almost everything a runner needs throughout the year.

The brand even offers a “million-mile guarantee”: if the user is dissatisfied with the hat for any reason within one million miles, they can request repair or replacement. This almost obsessive perfectionism has earned Ciele a stellar reputation among runners.

In addition to headgear, the brand has also launched running T-shirts, vests, long-sleeved shirts, socks, and even sunglasses. After ten years of development, Ciele’s apparel portfolio centered around running is now quite comprehensive.

As Ciele’s influence grew, the brand gained opportunities to collaborate with Puma, Salomon, and Norda. This was a silent declaration from Ciele to all the sports giants, further demonstrating the brand’s strong versatility in the fashion world.

However, Ciele, with its unique positioning, is more approachable and has followed a similar path to Lululemon: winning professional reputation with high-quality products and then attracting a wide user base through community culture.

This has allowed it to carve out a niche among a host of niche sports brands , including the French brand Satisfy, which focuses on functional aesthetics; Soar Running, which adheres to the spirit of British racing; and Norda, the Canadian newcomer that has shaken up the industry with its carbon fiber trail running shoes , providing runners with a new option that combines performance and style.

Perhaps in the near future, you’ll be wearing Ciele and running along the Huangpu River in Shanghai, Central Park in New York, or the Main River in Frankfurt. You’ll encounter other runners with similar colorful headwear, and with just a knowing glance, you’ll form a real and vibrant connection in your solitary run.

References:
[1]Caela Fenton, Canadian Running Magazine: “Canadian company Ciele making the new ‘it’ running hat”
[2]Doctors of Running: “Ciele Athletics Performance Headwear Review”
[3] NOWRE Customer Review: “Another ‘Dark Horse’ Sports Brand from Canada”
[4]Runner’s world: The 9 Best Running Hats Stood up to Sun, Wind, and Rain Without Any Problem
[5]The Logic: How to get a head in athletic apparel