Launching in 2019 and just celebrating its fourth birthday, Crop Shop Boutique has come a long way. With a staggering almost 400,000 Instagram followers, the brand has cemented itself as one of the leaders in the Australian activewear space.

And it looks like others are following suit.

“My favourite pieces are our two most viral styles, the Lexi and Sierra Crop, and seeing other brands mimic our pieces – I honestly take it as a compliment because it means we are doing something right,” Rachel told news.com.au.

SHOP THE MUST-HAVE CSB X ISABELLE MATHERS COLLECTION FROM 10AM AEST ON THE CSB WEBSITE

WHERE THE IDEA OF CROP SHOP BOUTIQUE CAME FROM

Rachel Dillon has always been “obsessed” with fitness.

Her dream was to be a personal trainer – one she achieved through her successful Move With Us program – and even competed and successfully won the WBFF Bikini World Championship not once, not twice, but a whopping three times.

“I was training every day, I competed in body building competitions, but I also always loved the element of fashion.”

Back in the day, Rachel struggled to find activewear crop tops she could wear in the gym that looked both stylish and fashionable.

“I would actually go into your regular clothing shops and buy little crop tops that were not made for the gym but they worked. People looked at me weird, but I didn’t care.”

After her body building wins, Rachel’s social media platform grew and led to her collaborating with an activewear brand – this is where she “fell in love” with the creative design process.

“I was running another business at the time and it honestly just started as a passion project,” she said.

“I thought let’s just do this on the side, it’s something I love, fashion meets fitness. “Activewear used to only be designed for functionality but I think bringing the two together is something I wanted to see more of.”

Crop Shop Boutique took off from there – starting with a range of five crop tops and then slowly working into shorts and leggings and everything in between.

“When I look back and reflect, everything was always kind of pointing into the direction that I’m in now,” Rachel said.

“Trying to get functional, comfortable and stylish activewear is always a challenge but I wanted to make something that hit all three.”

In just a few short years, Crop Shop Boutique has become one of Australia’s leading activewear brands and has been seen on the likes of The Little Mermaid star Halle Bailey, Pretty Little Liars actress Shay Mitchell and even Kaia Gerber – you know, just your casual supermodel.

One of Rachel’s top “pinch me” moments?

“Talking to someone and they’re telling me about CSB, not knowing that I own it, is a huge accomplishment for me as the goal was for it to be a stand-alone brand outside of me.”

For context, Rachel has accumulated approximately 1.5 million Instagram followers, so it’s hard to imagine people not knowing her connection to the successful Australian activewear brand.

RACHEL’S FAVOURITE COLLABORATION TO DATE

An “obvious” choice for Rachel, her favourite collaboration would have to be with her good friend, Australian model and influencer Isabelle Mathers.

“She is someone I look to for style inspiration and her overall values align with the brand’s mission,” she said.

The first CSB x Isabelle Mathers collection launched earlier this year and it sold out in minutes – something that Rachel describes as a “wild” feeling.

The pair have decided to launch another round of the collection, with a mix of the staples that people loved and a couple of new items too.

Shop core colours like black and white, but also brand new limited edition shades called Mineral and Ice. They’re all arriving in the Freedom fabric which is a super soft and silky feel.

You can shop the second drop of the CSB x Isabelle Mathers collection from 9am AEST Wednesday July 19 via the CSB app, or 10am AEST on the CSB website.

Scared you’ll miss out on snatching your favourite items? Don’t fret – Rachel gave us an inside scoop, confirming “there will be more to come for sure”.

WHAT MAKES CROP SHOP BOUTIQUE DIFFERENT TO OTHER ACTIVEWEAR BRANDS

We all know how saturated the activewear space is – especially in the Australian market – so what makes Crop Shop Boutique stand out from the rest?

According to Rachel, it’s all about her community.

“We pride ourselves on always listening to our customers and I always say that we are building this business together. I think always being open to feedback and how you can constantly listen, improve and shape your business to your customer is something that’s super important to us.”

Activewear is such a passion for Rachel – so much so, that she’s “product obsessed”.

“We aren’t here to just put out random products, we want to put out the best products possible, always try to stay ahead of trends, try new things, be bold and be brave.”

She continued: “I want someone to put on our activewear set and feel empowered, feel sexy and feel all the things we should feel every single day. I want people to feel confident and that is something we get as feedback often, which I’m super proud of.”

WHAT’S IN RACHEL’S DAILY ACTIVEWEAR ROTATION?

When we asked Rachel what her all-time favourite Crop Shop Boutique items were, she said – you guessed it – the viral Sierra and Lexi crops.

“No matter how many new ranges we do, I always find myself grabbing those two at least a few times a week,” she said.

Crop Shop Boutique has a number of different ranges, depending on what sort of compression and fabric you like to wear in and out of the gym.

ActiveLux is the newest fabric – it’s super compressive, perfect for weight training and for those wanting that snatched look.

Serenity is by far the brand’s most popular with thousands of customer reviews on their website.

If you want something that’s comfortable enough for all day wear, Rachel recommends the Fade fabric – it’s less compressive, thin and softly brushed.

And for something that sits in between, go for the Freedom fabric. That’s what the brand is using in the Isabelle Mathers collection as it’s one of her personal favourites.

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