As consumers become more and more conscious of their fitness, the activewear industry has seen rapid growth over the last few years. According to Statista, the global market size of the activewear industry was 353.5 billion USD in 2020. Worldwide lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic have also led to increased activewear sales, making it one of the best performing sectors. This boost can be credited to more than 64% of people reporting wearing activewear not just during fitness or sports activities but in everyday life as well.

For fashion entrepreneurs and established brands, the time to enter the activewear industry is now. However, with giants such as Nike, Adidas, Under Armour dominating the market, it’s not easy to carve out an audience that will turn to your products. That is, of course, unless you offer products that can match the offerings of these giants in terms of quality and style.

Nevertheless, learning how to design activewear can help you penetrate this market, and here’s how you can do it!

How to Begin: Find Inspiration

According to activewear designer Jonas Blorn, the essential element to designing it is combining fashion with functionality, so the consumers feel good and look good.  This is also what makes activewear such a challenging market because your audience will look for style and a combination of functionality and features.

Next Step: Find The Right Materials

Another tricky part is finding suitable materials for your designs to get all the desired features. Not all activewear products are made the same because each is designed for a specific purpose.

Most designers would think of synthetics when it comes to activewear. But several natural fibers such as bamboo and Merino wool offer great qualities, including antimicrobial nature, wicking, durability, and much more comfort than synthetics. However, the quality we get from synthetics is unrivaled, which is why they are mainly preferred for activewear.

Deciding which fabric to use for your activewear line can be a dilemma, so it is better to leave the sourcing of fabrics and trims to experts.

Final Step: From Design Boards to Samples

Once you have sketched your designs, the next step will lead you to an apparel pattern maker. Garment pattern making is an essential step for all fashion markets, but it is absolutely crucial to avoid any fit issues for activewear. This is where bigger companies win because they can create as many samples as they want until they get it just right.

Newer brands, however, can work with an apparel manufacturer that has experienced pattern makers for activewear and can perform the required sample making for them. Once the sample is to their liking, they can order products in batches.

If all of this sounds challenging, don’t be worried because we at Lefty Production Co. offer all these services under one roof. From design to final production, you will be working with a textile manufacturing company that combines knowledge, expertise, experience, and skill to deliver the best products. Some say activewear is all about a good fit, so get in touch with us to find out if we’re a good fit or not!

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