Julianne Hough: 'I judge my brother harsher than anybody!'

By: Gibson Johns

I already knew that Julianne Hough could do it all: She can dance ("Dancing With the Stars" -- duh!), sing ("Grease Live," anyone?) and act ("Footloose"), but as I saw last week at the launch of her Fall/Winter 2016 athleisure collection with MPG Sport, she can also design some amazing clothing.

What really caught me off guard, though, was the unbridled, genuine passion that Hough has for every single one of her pursuits. Not only does she have fun doing it all (literally), but she also makes it look so easy that it's almost unfair.

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After sitting through an hour of interviews that touched on her fashionable and functional new line, Hough teamed up with fitness guru Katia Pryce to lead her interviewers (including yours truly -- the only guy there, mind you) in a dance cardio class called DanceBody at The Movement in New York City.

As the rest of us struggled to keep up, the 28-year-old former "DWTS" pro glided through the difficult hip-hop dance routines with ease, all the while keeping a giant smile on her face and giving us encouraging looks through the floor-to-ceiling mirror throughout the half-hour.

Hough is a busy woman: Between her clothing line, acting roles, planning her upcoming wedding with fiancé Brooks Laich and a rumored return as a judge on "Dancing With the Stars," it's hard to believe that she has any time to relax. But, after watching her during our dance class together, it became clear that dancing is a form of relaxation for her. It's what she knows best.

Before dancing to Beyoncé's "Formation" together, I sat down with Julianne Hough to talk about her approach to her new collection, standing out in the competitive athleisure market and how she'll remain impartial while (maybe!) judging her brother, Derek Hough, during the upcoming season of "Dancing With the Stars."

See photos of Julianne Hough through the years:

Check out my full conversation with Julianne Hough below:

Let's talk about "Dancing With the Stars" -- you're returning!

Well, maybe! I can't confirm or deny. [Smiles] Everyone's saying I'm coming back, but I'm like, "Hey! I haven't signed my deal yet!"

Okay, well we do know that Derek is returning. If you were to hypothetically judge his dancing, how would you remain neutral?

I feel like I judge my brother harsher than anybody! [Laughs] On a daily basis, really. When I think about it, I take myself out of the brother-sister thing, as well as friendships [when I'm judging], because I'm friends with a lot of the dancers, too. I think about the actual progression that they're making, and I realize that this is out of people's comfort zones. I'm not a person to really judge harshly -- I'm more encouraging -- but I really do want to point out tips, so that they can actually grow and progress. That's how I approach it and anybody that I judge: It's never personal, and it's always about the dance. Sometimes tough love is good, too!

Let's talk about your Fall/Winter 2016 collection with MPG Sport. How did you approach this collection of athleisure wear?

I literally lived in dance clothes, workout gear, sweats my whole life -- I would wear it out before it was "cool" to wear out -- when it still looked schlubby. I thought that there had to be a hybrid of working out, but a lot of people are busy, so they can't necessarily go home, shower and do all of that stuff. They could shower at their gym, but then packing clothes and all of that stuff can become a lot of work. So I thought, how could I create something that kind of does both? Not something that's just functional, but also really fashionable.

For instance, there's this cute little jacket that I feel like is not just your go to hoodie: It's got a really slender sleeve, and the zip-up front is more structured. It's a little more high-fashion. Print is really great for working out, but then you also want some more go-to styles like black or herringbone. It makes it feel like you could wear these pieces to work.

The athleisure market is a very competitive space right now. Were there certain things that you wanted to do or include that your competitors aren't doing?

Absolutely. I've actually been wanting to do this [line] for probably 6 or 7 years, and I never felt like I had the right opportunity with the right partner. I didn't want to start from scratch because that's a huge undertaking, and I wanted to work with somebody who had already been doing it for a long time and understood how to actually make the clothes properly and use the right fabrics so that they weren't cheap. You can wash these clothes over and over again and they'll still look fresh and crisp. When I met with MPG, I was like, "You guys are literally everything [that I've been looking for]!" They really don't miss any detail, and they really pride themselves on those little details.

For example, because I'm so short, a lot of leggings are really long on me, but in this line we have leggings that are all hemmed in three different places. So, if you want, you can cut them off, and they're not going to fray.

When I met with them, I realized that we were on the same page. They actually started with dancers, so they understand the whole idea that you want to fit [into your clothes] really nicely. You don't want to just put any old thing on to go to work out. You want to feel cute and confident when you're working out, because that's going to want to make you workout even more. By working out more, the way you move directly affects the way you feel. And if you feel amazing, you're going to have a better life!

What are some functional aspects to workout apparel that you wanted to be sure to include in your collection?

In a previous interview, I was asked if this line was for every body type, and I said that I wanted to make sure that it was, because certain things that I like -- like short shorts or low-rise pants -- not everyone loves. We have a wide variety of bra tops, as well. Everything that I did, I wanted to be versatile.

I also wanted it to be a bang for your buck. I know that not everyone wants to spend a ton on athleisure wear -- some people want to spend it on handbags or shoes or something else -- so here you basically get two for one!

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