More than two years of research, testing and design leads to revolutionary new bra collection and Nike Pro 360 Fit System.
The sports bra is at the heart of every female athlete’s workout.
It’s often the first thing she puts on and is arguably the most
important.
More so than any other part of the workout wardrobe, sports bras make
it clear no two women are the same. Different physiques and different
needs across a wide range of activities require a heightened focus on
narrowly tailored personalization.
In this regard, fit and support are paramount. A sports bra that doesn’t fit right is motivation not to work out.
“We have a saying here, ‘No bra, no workout, no run’,” says Julie
Igarashi, Vice President of Global Design for Nike Women’s Training.
“The majority of women are wearing the wrong-sized bra. This is
something we needed to fix.”
This insight inspired Nike to devote more than two years of research,
testing, design and development to creating a new sports bra solution.
The result of that work is the
Nike Pro Bra Collection,
an innovative line of sports bras designed for the body in motion to
provide the right fit and right support for every female athlete.
The Nike Pro Bra Collection features five bras designed for each
athlete’s desired level of support. The centerpiece of the collection is
the
Nike Pro Rival Bra, which delivers the highest level of support and is
offered in 25 sizes to help the female athlete find the right fit. The collection also features the new
Nike Pro Fierce Bra, as well as
the updated Nike Pro Classic and
Nike Pro Indy Bras. The Nike Pro Classic Bra is also available in a padded version.
The bras are complemented by the new Nike Pro 360 Fit System, which
employs a Nike-created calculator to help female athletes find their
precise size.
Together, the bras and fit system represent the culmination of a
global design journey in which every detail was obsessed, all the way
down to the fibers found in the fabrics.
Athlete Insights and Early Research
Athlete insights are the lifeblood of Nike design. In the early
stages of its sports bra research, Nike interviewed a number of
athletes. An important theme emerged: the higher the support, the lower
the comfort.
“Our mission was clear,” Nike Innovation Designer Stephy Scott says.
“We needed to develop bras offering a continuum of support without
sacrificing comfort. The need for a high support bra that wouldn’t
compromise fit for function was especially critical.”
To build a bra up, Nike needed to break it down, work that would
require an entire team. This team, spanning research, design and
development, embarked on a global journey of innovation. It met with
some of the world’s leading bra specialists and studied bra
manufacturing best practices. Particular focus was placed on lingerie
construction.
The journey also brought the Nike team to the United Kingdom, where
it partnered with Loughborough University, one of only a handful of
universities in the world that conducts sports bra research.
Biomechanical Testing
At Loughborough, both Nike and university researchers worked together
to conduct biomechanical testing of female athletes in motion. By using
a motion analysis system that captures video at an ultra-slow rate of
200 frames per second, researchers were able to track the breast motion
of athletes wearing the bras while running on treadmills. Among other
outputs, this testing recorded displacement, a measure of how much the
breast moves. It was clear that managing displacement with an
appropriate level of sports bra support would be vital.
In total, more than 600 hours of biomechanical testing were
conducted, both at Loughborough and in the Nike Explore Team Sport
Research Lab.
“In addition to measuring displacement, our testing also revealed
that in most sports a female athlete plays, breasts tend to move in the
shape of a butterfly—up and left, down, up and right, down,” says
Martine Mientjes, Nike Apparel Innovation Project Research Director.
“With a scientific understanding of how the breast moves, our designers
were able to be extremely precise in where to emphasize added support in
the bras.”
Materials Research
The sports bra is the true sum of its parts. Every component has the
potential to either hurt or help its performance. The materials that
comprise a sports bra are prime examples of this. For instance, two of
the same fabrics can have significantly different stretch properties if
they originate from different batches. If the fabrics stretch
differently, they will fit differently.
To maintain consistent fit, as well as soft-hand feel and support,
Nike obsessed materials. Researchers analyzed and tested a number of
fabrics for stretch, recovery, moisture management and modulus. Modulus,
which reveals how difficult or easy it is to stretch a fabric, was an
integral consideration. Modulus not only delivers support, but also is
the best measure for the consistency of stretch fabrics from batch to
batch.
“We continue to look at innovative ways to maintain high standards
for our fabrics,” says Richa Maheshwari, a Nike Innovation Materials
Researcher. “Our discoveries pushed us to create a new threshold for how
we evaluate stretch fabrics.”
The Nike Pro Rival Bra is the pinnacle example of this high standard.
It features a fabric constructed from fine nylon yarns for a soft-hand
feel, which is a staple of lingerie construction. State of the art
knitting machines were employed to knit the fabric nearly twice as
tightly as fabric found in typical apparel. The result is an ultra-soft
performance fabric that provides the appropriate amount of stretch and
modulus to help deliver support and a consistent fit.
Researchers also devoted significant thought to the chest band, the
architectural foundation of the bra. The chest band, which helps provide
comfort and support with a better fit, has historically been a
lightning rod for criticism.
“We searched for the softest elastics for a zero distraction feel,”
Maheshwari says. “We also ensured that the materials used included the
appropriate amount of stretch and modulus for a consistent and
supportive fit.”
Fitting
The design journey not only starts with the athlete, but ends with
the athlete as well. More than 300 wear tests to assess support and fit
were performed worldwide. In addition, the bras were put through more
than 1,800 hours of wash testing to assess shrinkage, durability, hand
feel and visual appearance.
To ensure the power of finding the perfect fit can be in the
athlete’s hands, Nike developed the Nike Pro 360 Fit System. Born out of
two years of development, the system requires the female athlete to
enter her ribcage circumference and cup size into a Nike-created
calculator. The calculator will then produce a recommended bra size.
Initial testing on 100 athletes showed the system to be approximately 80
percent accurate.
“While we find this percentage incredibly exciting, it’s just a
starting point,” Nike Women’s Training Technical Development Director
Kerryn Foster says. “We look forward to continuing to improve the
accuracy of this new fit system.”
Female athletes will be able to use the Nike Pro 360 Fit System both at select Nike retailers and on
Nike.com.
The Nike Pro Bra Collection will be available beginning July 14. A
breakdown of each bra in the collection, from highest to lightest
support, follows below.
Nike Pro Rival Bra
Inspired by traditional lingerie construction and employing lingerie
and sport-appropriate materials, the Nike Pro Rival Bra achieves the
highest level of support in the collection. The bra features
tightly-knit nylon fabric with appropriate stretch and modulus for
increased support and a consistent, compression fit. It is the only
part-encapsulation style bra in the collection, with separate
fully-molded cups to help deliver shaping and support where the female
athlete needs it most. The contoured foam inserts in the cups and
racerback design provide additional support.
The Nike Pro Rival Bra is available in 25 sizes, ranging from 30B to
38E. This helps the female athlete find the fit that’s best for her.
Despite its lingerie inspiration, the bra achieves a sporty look with
its matte finish. Still, it’s designed to be versatile enough to handle
any run or workout in the gym and any look outside of it.
Nike Pro Fierce Bra
The lightweight Nike Pro Fierce Bra offers medium-to-high support
through a blend of compression and part-molded construction. The slight
molding in the cups provides shaping and support, and the stretch power
mesh in the racerback design enhances ventilation in a key sweat zone.
The polyester compression materials that comprise the bra were held to
new testing standards for enhanced support and a more consistent fit.
Nike Dri-FIT material in the bra’s cups helps provide one-way
moisture transport. As the female athlete sweats, the resulting moisture
is designed to move from inside the bra to outside of it to help keep
her dry and comfortable. The chest band is brushed for an ultra-soft
feel, while also featuring the appropriate amount of stretch and
recovery
Nike Pro Classic Bra
Evolving from the popular Nike Pro Bra, the Nike Pro Classic Bra
features a new racerback design for increased support. Also updated is
the chest band, which is brushed for a soft feel. The Nike Pro Classic
Bra is positioned as a medium support bra and is offered in a padded
version for modest coverage.
Nike Pro Indy Bra
Offering light support, the Nike Pro Indy Bra employs adjustable
elastic straps to help provide the right fit. Removable pads help with
shaping, modesty and support. Stretch power mesh enhances ventilation in
the racerback design, and nylon fabric delivers appropriate stretch and
a soft feel
Source Nike
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