CWB gets up to speed on the latest developments in school sportswear.
“At this year’s Schoolwear Show we were pleased to introduce a couple of new ranges – Vision and Academy − plus a product addition into the Primary range, all to be available for Back to School 2022/23.
Manufactured from 100% recycled yarn, the Vision range is designed to take into consideration what today’s students feel comfortable in and the styles they are wearing outside of school. The range is fully coordinated, consisting of a polo, T-shirt, two styles of shorts, a mid-layer and a hooded top, and it will be offered from stock in six colourways.
The Academy range is targeted at schools that simply require a well-designed, durable T-shirt and short combination. It will also be stocked in six colourways. As we have had a successful year with our Primary range, we are also introducing a Primary jogger, which will complement all the products available in the Primary range and again, will be manufactured using recycled yarns.
During Covid, pupils were asked to wear their PE kits throughout the school day, which resulted in schools introducing mid-layers, track pants and leggings.
This was taken into consideration when designing the Vision range, our first thought being: Can it be worn all day? It also became apparent that this change in the use of sportswear has been introduced into primary schools too, hence the introduction of the ¼ zip top in 2022, and the new Y35 Primary jogger. If students are wearing their kits all day, it is more important than ever that we ensure the garments are hard-wearing and comfortable.
The drive towards recycled fabrics is another important development and something we are focusing on. We currently have four of our ranges manufactured using recycled yarns, but our aim is to switch all our product lines. The difficulty is balancing the obvious benefits of offering recycled products, whilst also trying to maintain prices that are affordable.”
Simon Dooley, sales director
“At The Schoolwear Show we launched a brand new sportswear range, AKOA Pulse, which offers contemporary design with new technical fabrics. The collection features seven core products in six stock colourways and has been designed to offer a cost-effective and good value range to customers, particularly in light of the new statutory uniform guidance.
Reflecting how sports fabrics are evolving, AKOA Pulse incorporates new fabrics such as a Fresh Rib for the hoody and mid-layer. It’s a more technical feeling fabric, which echoes the developments we have seen from high street brands. Girls’ sports and the growing trend for inclusion at all levels are also being fulfilled by providing functional garments that are well-made for both boys and girls. Our ranges include unisex and girls-specific garments to make sure everyone is comfortable and well-catered for.
During the pandemic, we definitely saw more demand for sportswear. This has continued to an extent since, although we haven’t seen a fundamental shift in the styles or designs required to meet schools’ needs. Despite the wider cost of living challenges across the UK, schools are still looking for good quality, well-made, functional garments that pupils also want to wear.”
Matthew Easter, Group CEO
“At Banner, our mission is for our entire product range to be sourced from sustainable materials. We’ve already made huge leaps toward this goal and in 2023 we’re going even further. What’s a sustainable uniform without a PE kit to match?
Available for 2023, our entire APTUS brand is making the transition to sustainable fabrics, using recycled polyester to construct our much-loved sportswear garments. Products from both APTUS Essentials and Performance will still have the same quality, look and feel but now, collectively with our eco uniform, they’ll keep us on track to prevent 50+ million plastic bottles from going to landfill by 2025.
Our APTUS garments were designed to inspire students of any age, gender and body type to get involved with school sports with confidence. While this remains the core motivation for our APTUS ranges, the transition to eco fabrics reflects our dedication to doing the right thing for the planet and future generations.”
Poppy Kasapidis, content creator
“There’s been a step-change in the way sportswear is used within schools, with the emergence of a ‘casual trend’ seeing us shift to a more progressive yet casual society. They say that fashion is a mirror of society and as we continue to navigate issues surrounding post-Covid living, climate change and a cost of living crisis, fashion will continue to evolve with it.
Current school uniform has yet to see much of a change in 100 years, reflecting a time of formality and uniformity. The events of the pandemic propelled society towards a more casual working attire, changing how children perceive their parents’ fashion in the workplace.
Since the pandemic, many schools have continued to ask students to wear PE kit on days that involve a sports lesson. Or, for instance, during a heatwave. Would it be so radical for UK schools to adopt a more casual attire period for the sake of ease and comfort? We predict an increased demand for sportswear and that a move towards more casual school uniform will be a key trend in the coming months.
At The Schoolwear Show we launched our new in-house print capability, a unique added-value feature of our Juco range. It’s the perfect moment to demonstrate how school sportswear can be elevated in order to remain ‘uniformed’ whilst benefiting from the comfort and convenience of students wearing PE kit in place of their school uniform.”
Matthew Thompson, business development manager
“At The Schoolwear Show we launched our latest service, Gforce Signature, which is an innovative offer that enables schools to have a fully customised sports kit right through to the garment labelling and swing tags.
Signature takes schools’ colours, crests, badges and labelling to create a custom-made own-brand range of sportswear that highlights only the school’s brand − as opposed to a supplier’s − whilst keeping that premium, sophisticated look throughout. Our team also proudly presented our latest school sports kit designs created by our in-house designers. These new designs, which still allow for complete customisation and personalisation, are a technical yet contemporary take on traditional school sports kit.
In terms of trends, we’re seeing an increased requirement for simplifying kit designs to make more subtle use of a school’s colours and branding. In a marketplace where customisation options are almost limitless, there’s a move to more premium-looking, sharper designs that better reflect a school’s ethos and values whilst keeping overall branding more consistent and not reducing the huge impact bespoke teamwear offers a school.
We are also responding to the demand for environmental sustainability by offering long-lasting fabrics that can be easily cleaned, even at low temperatures.
The technical nature of these fabrics offers user benefits during sport whilst also benefitting the environment. Recycled fabrics are on the rise too, as is some interest in our new antibacterial offer, which keeps those heavily used sports kits smelling fresher for longer.
Because sports kit is being worn for longer and more often since Covid, we’re finding this has increased its importance in the eyes of the school decision-makers. Our customers have been looking for modern kits that children will be proud to wear and perform in, as well as representing the school positively when worn to and from their homes.
Naturally, the kit needs to be comfortable, functional and withstand regular wear and washing − we’re seeing more importance being placed on these factors − but also for teamwear garments to offer guaranteed continuity so parents are not having to repurchase their child’s sportswear unless they grow out of it.”
Simon Ward, sales director
