More women entering manually intensive roles in New Zealand workplaces is changing the way bras are designed and worn, according to one of the country’s largest lingerie exporters
Latest Government data, shows the number of women in trades is up 25% on a decade ago. Of particular note, more women than ever are joining New Zealand’s construction industry with the proportion of women employed in the industry doubling to 17 per cent over the last 15 years.
Similarly, the number of women on the front line of the police force has increased by 15% over the same period and women now make up a quarter of New Zealand’s defence force personnel.
Rose & Thorne Head of Design Sue Dunmore says the growing number of women involved in more physical work roles has led to the development of a new category of intimate apparel.
She says her company has created an “active bra” especially engineered for women working in trades, policing and other physically demanding professions.
Dunmore says unlike sports bras the active bra is fully wired and has been designed to be worn throughout the day to support and not compress for comfort.
“In the past women in these roles have had to rely on a sports bra which compresses their bust and features a racer back. Regardless of how well engineered these bras are they are not designed to be worn for long periods of time and often women complain of discomfort.
“We had been inundated with enquiries from women who were asking us for a comfortable bra that could support them for at least eight hours in a physically demanding role, so we created the active bra,” she says.
Rose & Thorne CEO Richard Carey says sales of active bras are already twice that of traditional sports bras with the company experiencing 700% growth in the category last financial year.
Carey says this sales trajectory is likely to continue across both their domestic and export markets as more women enter these types of roles.
He points to the U.S military who are also in the process of creating a “tactical bra” for female soldiers, which along with comfort considerations could have innovations such as flame-retardant fabrics.
