Sports bra: maintenance and style

The support industry designed for sport has experienced a dazzling development for a few years, while recent research and innovations allow companies to offer ever more efficient products ... which also have a hellish look.Our journalist takes a look at the phenomenon.

A changing industry

We believe it far, the time when women were reduced to wearing a corset (!) To play sports.However, it was not until the late 1970s to see the very first sport bra, the Jogbra.For a long time, the bra has changed little.But things have been changing for a few years, powered by new research and innovations.Overview.

The Sport bra is growing.Only in Canada, its sales increased by 34 % between 2015 and 2016, according to The NPD Group.The proof that not only is women more active, but that they also want more comfortable clothes for their sports activities.

Emma Dunn, founder and owner of the store specializing in high-end lingerie Emma underwear, can testify.In 2016, its sports bra sales jumped 56 %.

“For the past five years, the demand soar.What is certain is that women are ready to invest in a good sports bra, because that makes all the difference. ”

No wonder that more and more companies are embarking on the sports support industry - in Canada, we think of Lululemon, Lolë or Hyba - with models up to date that offer women maintenance and comfort, butalso a beautiful silhouette.

Because despite the variety of choices on the market, several bras are not very flattering and ill -suited to the breasts -particularly the largest -, flattening or distorting the chest, a phenomenon known as the English of "Uniboob", and particularlyhated women.

Already, in 2014, Victoria's Secret declared the "UNIBOOB war" by introducing her new collection of sports bras.On its website, the company also prides itself on offering the "best sports bras in the world", nothing less!All, with a hellish look, of course.

Of the importance of the right adjustment

But beyond the look, a bra must first adequately support the chest according to the sport practiced.Many studies tend to show that a deficient support in the chest can have a real impact on women's participation in sports activities, especially among young women.

A subject at the heart of the Mission of the Research Group in Breast Health of the University of Portsmouth, England, which is internationally recognized for its research in breast biomechanics.

"Our studies show that the more young girls have a bad support in the chest, the less they tend to play sports," says Michelle Noris, the main associate of Researchdi Research Group in Breast Health from the University of Portsmouth.

By having a better understanding of the movements of the chest during physical activity, one can one day better understand how ... stop it.To do this, the research group uses cutting-edge technologies, such as 3D motion capture and sensors placed on the skin, under the bra, for more precise results than ever.

“We study how the chest moves during a sporting activity, when the woman runs or jumps for example, with different types of bra and without bra.We now know that the breast moves in a trajectory in the shape of 8, and not only from top to bottom.Companies must therefore think of preventing movements in all directions! ”Summarizes Ms. Noris.

Thanks to this expertise, the University of Portsmouth collaborates with several underwear companies in order to test their bra.Among them, Anita, who has been in the field of female underwear for 130 years.The German company puts its know-how at the service of the sports bra for more than 20 years and accumulates the prices of design and technological development for its products.

In Canada, Anita works in partnership with the Ontario Canadian Sport Institute, which leads to the Olympic athletes, and will undertake this year a study to determine whether to carry a bra to measure the performance of performance'An athlete.

“The main problem with sport bras is sizes.We cannot just define someone as "small" or "medium" when it comes to chest, as most sports brands do, "explains Olivia Leroux, director of marketing and sales for AnitaCanada, which offers sports bras in a wide variety of sizes, from 30 AA to 42 H.

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"To have a good support, you must have both the measurement of the tower of the rib cage and the chest."

Beyond the size, Anita has acquired expertise in order to not only understand the whole "technical" side of the chest, but also any "engineering" of the bra, details Ms. Leroux.

"Reduce the pressure on the shoulders with a good placement of the suspenders, allow perspiration to evacuate without leaving traces on the sweater, create molded molded caps, think the elastic bands and the ties to avoid friction and theIrritations ... These are all small details that allow you to be fully in your sport. ”

In numbers

46 %: proportion of young secondary girls in England who would avoid sports because of the discomfort or the pain caused by their chest.

15 %: proportion of young girls in England who believe that their breasts are too large to exercise.

Maintaining in a bra

80 % comes from the elastic band under the breasts 20 % comes from the suspenders

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Source: Research Group in Breast Health, University of Portsmouth

Reinvent female underwear

His campaign on Kickstarter for the development and marketing of the 8-in-1 Evolution Bra was one of the most fruitful in the history of the socio-financing company, exceeding its initial objective of $ 30,000 ...5000 %!Intrigued, we joined the founder and CEO of Knix Wear, Joanna Griffiths, to learn more about this American company which wants, no more and no less, reinventing the female underwear.

The mission

Knix Wear is basically a company specializing in small panties for women.The idea is part of a simple observation of Ms. Griffiths: the underside offered on the market, although very pretty, are not necessarily thought of to respond to the different concerns of women, whether it is comfort, evacuation of the'humidity or control of odors.In short, there is little innovation in the field."However, this is so an important piece of our wardrobe: this is the first thing we put on in the morning, and the last one that we remove in the evening.Our goal was therefore to reinvent panties, to make it better, by adapting it to the variety of needs of women, ”summarizes the businesswoman.

Products

The initial product launched by Knix Wear was an absorbing and anti -fisited panties, designed to reduce discomfort attributable to losses or as additional protection during periods.Very quickly, the company invests the sector of sporting underwear and launches a range of small “athletic” panties, made from a high-performance fabric, Lycra Sport."We look at what is done in other sectors - for example, clothes designed for cycling or outdoor - and we are inspired by their innovations to create our own technology," explains Ms. Griffiths.Thus, underwear is designed with a cotton pocket which allows the evacuation of humidity and incorporate antimicrobial technology for the control of odors.

And now the top!

One of the other peculiarities of Knix Wear products is their seamless patented technology, which uses a combination of collage and compression techniques.Hence the idea of creating a hyper comfortable bra, without seams either, but also multi-functional, which could accompany women throughout the day."Women like the fact that they can wear our underwear for several types of activity without having to change, and we wanted to do the same for bras," explains the founder of Knix Wear.The concept of 8-in-1 Evolution Bra was born.

A bra, several functions

The 8-in-1 Evolution Bra can therefore be worn all day, without having to change after a class of yoga or spinning, for example, since it quickly evacuates humidity, which allows you to stayDry (note that it is not designed for high impact sports like the race).As its name says, it can be worn in eight ways, since it is reversible and can be crossed."We wanted to create an efficient, but also very comfortable clothing, that women would like to wear all day."After a year spent developing the product, Knix Wear launched at the end of 2015 his socio -financing campaign on Kickstarter, which was a crazy success: $ 2.6 million is thus harvested!

For all hats and sizes

One of the peculiarities of the Evolution Bra is its fabric which comes to mold the body as you wear it, thus adapting to the different silhouettes, and which also offers good support, substituting the usual hoops, but withoutHowever, compress the chest.For the company, it is essential that the product is accessible to all women, regardless of their hat, size or weight.“Women are increasingly active, they want to be comfortable at all times.It is therefore logical that there is a desire for a bra that would fulfill a similar function. ”