This Nan Can

An opportunity in sport apparel for women is being missed. Crowd DNA editor Jennifer Robinson looks at how to win with the older woman who seeks out active fitness…

Our latest report Reframing Ageing: APAC shows what is changing for the older person, and what they want from products and campaigns. We see this as the ‘reframing, reassessing and reclaiming’ of what ageing feels like. 

Download Reframing Ageing: APAC here.

There’s lots to get to know about ageing reframed, but one cohort being overlooked is the 50-plus active woman. We don’t find her on the activewear shop floor. There’s no major menopausal woman range – a natural addition to sport brands that have developed maternity, teen or plus-sized ranges. In campaigns for active women, the athletic older woman isn’t featured: Nike’s ‘Year of the Woman’ launched in Spring without her. She isn’t placed in inclusive ranges, either: not in the adidas new Collective Power or recent Athleta ranges – all of which has otherwise a great record for diversity.

Apparel brands have made great strides in inclusivity, and older active women can be a bigger part of this. So what’s next? Here is how to win with the 50-plus active woman, and to really show that activewear can fit all stages of life. 

Your Body Is Never The Same

There’s an athletic body in there as a woman gets into her fifties, it has just been transformed by menopause. Earlier this year, Nike launched leak proof period shorts: which is great for helping teenage girls feel comfortable doing sport. But similar technical changes to sports wear could be made for menopausal women: who may experience menstrual ‘flooding’; sweating; weight gain around the middle. Who wants a higher neckline for breast support. Or material that ameliorates against chaffing. There are innovative designs that are helping the menopausal body in sport, for example the US clothing brand, Become, that has developed Anti-Flush Technology™, which absorbs heat from the surface of the skin when it gets hot, then releases warmth back onto the body during the chill that follows.

Celebrating Last Place 

A few years ago, Nike launched CruzrOne – a sneaker for the slower runner. It arrived with compelling marketing (even more than usual…). The product, we saw in the advert, originated for company co-founder, Phil Knight – “a slow runner – and that’s me,” he said. What he didn’t say was that he’s over 80 years old. This is a product designed to appeal to older people but marketed focused on actual needs not assumed age – it’s for “all those cruisers” out there – could be 80+ or 20. It’s a product for the active stage you’re at right now – very, very slow running – not your age. It doesn’t make the customer feel their age when buying. Sounds great, right?

Deakin and Blue swimwear is inclusive of all ages

What Is Her Experience?

In our report Reframing Ageing we looked at how life doesn’t stop at 50. And nor does exercise – though how you experience it does change. One successful UK active apparel brand, Deakin and Blue, really leans into this with their uplifting Swinspiration pages, which reframes sporting achievements from physical wins to a candid, honest look at life as an active older woman – often now about wellbeing as much as sporting goals. We see this in their web page section with contributions from customers: Body Stories sparks poignant responses by asking provocative questions, such as: “You’re standing on a beach in your swimwear on a nice hot day. How do you feel about yourself and your body at that moment?”

Support Can Be Sexy

Fijjit’s stylish All-In-One workout outfit

Sports bras give extra support, and are still available in the sexier styles. Where is the equivalent across other apparel? Australian swimwear brand Baiia has a product innovation in activewear with the world’s first four piece bikini, a flattering alternative to a full body cover-up (and modelled by older models, acknowledging their experience:  “As women, our bodies are often changing and adapting to the rhythm of life’s varied stages”). The UK brand, Fijjit, offers the stylish All-In-One workout outfit with an extra high waistband and a halter neck mesh bib to keep everything in place. While the US brand Any Age promises stylish kit that compliments and supports the mature body: “Spillage. Sagging. Support. We heard you.”

Apparel retailers have been leading the way on so many great products that help female body positivity. It’s a good time to develop that with the 50-plus women’s sport market, and reframe their ageing experience in activewear. It should be a big win.