Adidas Heightening Focus on Women With Formotion
Adidas is turning its attention to women.
The German sporting goods giant has created a new collection, Formotion, inspired by shapewear that features graded zonal compression to sculpt and support a women’s distinct shape. The collection is targeted to active women of all shapes and sizes seeking comfortable performance wear for everything from Pilates to HIIT gym workouts.
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The line will be sold beginning March 4 on the Adidas e-commerce site as well as other select retailers. It will include high-rise tights, cropped T-shirts, sports bras, tights and layering pieces and will retail for $48.50 and up.
The launch of Formotion will be supported by a new spring campaign, “Watch Us Move,” that features inspiring female athletes from around the world, including body positive yogi Jessamyn Stanley; world champion Paralympic silver medalist cyclist and motivational speaker Denise Schindler; professional soccer player Alisha Lehmann; dancer Minh-Thu Nguyen, and mental health advocate Simone Powderly. In addition, Adidas is launching a new fitness series on YouTube offering free classes ranging from yoga and core workouts to maternity-safe exercises.
In a virtual reveal on Wednesday, Josefine Aberg, vice president of design, said the launch of Formotion marks the culmination of “a two-year journey speaking to women around the world about what’s important to them and what makes them want to stay in sport.”
She said the results found that comfort, fit and appearance were the most important features to the female athlete. “When you’re wearing something you feel good in, you feel confident,” she said. “Confidence to embrace movement has a profoundly positive impact on wellbeing. We want to make women feel secure and strong yet comfortable — liberated, rather than restricted, so we created a collection designed to give them confidence with every move, from deadlifting to dance. We do this to help her use sport to feel supported and confident, every day.”
Aberg said Adidas used precise body mapping and motion research on a wide range of body types to create Formotion. So there are compression zones of varying intensities around the waist and hips while the legs are looser to let muscles expand when moving, she explained. The line also features Aeroready, a moisture-wicking fabric to keep the wearer dry and comfortable.
Although Adidas does offer other compression apparel, Aberg said those garments are warp knits that feature allover compression rather than targeted zones. Additionally, like shapewear, Formotion has no seams to chafe the user or distract from the sport they’re participating in.
The line is offered in a variety of sizes, ranging from XXXS to 4X.
In addition, the line fits into Adidas’s sustainability efforts by using Primegreen, a material with a minimum of 40 percent recycled content that was developed as part of the company’s goal to end plastic waste.
Adidas is not alone in its quest to lure women to sports — and their brand. Nike and Under Armour have both been working to enhance their reach with females for the past several years, and on Wednesday when Puma released its year-end results, it too said it would be putting more focus on the women’s market. Historically, large sports brands have appealed more to men, allowing female-centric companies such as Lululemon to steal market share. But Adidas has been targeting women for the last five years and recently added Beyoncé and her Ivy Park collection into the fold to help in their mission to attract more women.
Although Adidas declined to say how big a business women’s represents for the brand, Tricia Shumavon, vice president of product, global training, said: “It’s a brand priority and will continue to be a focus for us. It doesn’t stop here.”
In fact, Adidas last summer introduced its first maternity collection, and there’s more to come. Within the next 12 months, Shumavon said, Adidas will launch Stay and Play, a collection targeted to young women to wear during their periods so they can feel “protected and confident and not worry about leakage,” she said, as well as modesty swimwear for the community that is seeking more coverage for swimming. Footwear that is more ergonomic for the female shape is also in the works.
“The brand has always had product for women, but it’s time to talk about it,” Shumavon said. “It’s an important moment for women in the world and we have stories we can tell. We want to make people feel welcome and know that there is a place for them.”
The Watch Us Move campaign, which Shumavon said will continue through 2022 and 2023, is intended to be both motivational and inclusive. “We want to make sure we’re communicating that Adidas is here for all women,” she said. “Watch Us Move is our long-term commitment to better serve the breadth of our female audience. And inclusivity is at the forefront of that effort.”
Aberg added: “Women’s has been part of Adidas for a long time, but we’re dialing up the conversation with her, by her and for her.”
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