And Invista, owner of the Lycra fiber brand, is urging intimate apparel makers to turn their attention to sports bras for one big reason—the booming athleisure lifestyle is good for business.
That’s why Lycra debuted a new platform and capsule collection dubbed Lycra Moves Athleisure on Thursday at Interfilière New York, a one-day materials and sourcing show for lingerie, swimwear and activewear, hosted by Eurovet Americas.
Invista had initially teased the platform at a cocktail event in August, explaining how and why Lycra’s brand and mill partners should expand their collection to capture the opportunities presented by athleisure. Chiefly, the fact that the sports bra market has grown from $0.8 billion to $1.5 billion in sales over the last five years, as per The NPD Group, with the strongest growth shown between 2014 and 2016.
“The Lycra brand is a business connector in the apparel industry and we offer the most robust insights, solutions and contacts in the market,” stated Pattie Ficorilli, senior marketing manager for intimate apparel and swim. “We have the skills and knowledge to provide buyers and brands with the solutions they need to capture their share of the expansive athleisure market.”
To that end, Lycra Moves Athleisure is designed to be a one-stop shop for active lifestyle solutions, allowing mills and brands operating in the intimate apparel space to slip into this growing market and lift their business by incorporating fiber technologies that deliver a range of performance benefits.
• Lycra Cooling: moisture management keeps the wearer cool, dry and comfortable, while also providing shaping benefits
• Lycra Black: deep, rich colors, virtually no grin-through
• Lycra W: deeper, rich coloration, whiteness, uniformity and recovery power
• Lycra Soft Comfort: increased flexibility for fitting in-between sizes and comfortable compression
• Lycra Sport: engineered to deliver comfort, fit and support to activewear fabrics
• Lycra T400: combines durable stretch and recovery with moisture management
Still not sure athleisure has legs? Morgan Stanley said the $270 billion sports apparel and footwear segment has surged 42 percent over the last seven years and will grow a further 30 percent by 2020. That’s why Lycra doesn’t just see opportunity in sports bras. Last month, the fiber brand unveiled a new Lycra Sport platform at Outdoor Retailer Summer Market in Salt Lake City, Utah, to make it easier than ever for mills, brands and retailers to meet the needs of the active consumer.