A 2020 research conducted by BBC revealed that close to 30 per cent of women in India engage in some form of sports. This figure, while not negligent by itself, still does not include those who engage in other forms of fitness apart from sports. Even so, when you set out to buy clothing for your fitness needs, you’ll experience either a fit issue or discomfort in the form of size.
Image Source: Instagram/ochreathletica
“As athletes ourselves, we’ve constantly struggled to find activewear that lived up to our rigorous training demands. The more confident you feel, the more apt you are to go to the gym and work on getting the results you’re looking for,” says Aditi Kakkar, co-founder of activewear brand Ochre Athletica. “After having tried almost all prominent brands in the past decade of intense, high-impact training, we realized most activewear would wear out within six months, are not squat-proof, bottoms don’t stay put when you’re involved in rigorous training. The assortment lacks ethical, conscious fabrics and inspiring, fresh styles and colours that empower more women,” she adds. The quest to find more functional active wear led to the birth of Ochre. “In an effort to create something powerful that makes women feel confident and sexy but not at the cost of the earth, we started working on Ochre with a strong love for the environment as we saw no other brand doing justice to it,” says Kakkar.
Image Source: Instagram/ochreathletica
The Perfect Kind Of Active Wear
Apart from the fact that the fit and functionality of active wear is of utmost importance, there’s also the factor of confidence that active wear adds to your workout session. “Getting a good activewear set is like changing your workout program, which you should, ideally, every three-six months. It gives you a refresher from a mundane training pattern, bumps up excitement which, in turn, leads to better energy, athletic performance and results. As athletes, we believe in enclothed cognition, not only for sportsmen but also for women who move for general fitness,” says Radhika Shanker, co-founder of the studio-to-street brand. Shanker herself has a particular passion for football as a sport as well as lifting.
Image Source: Instagram/ochreathletica
Ochre’s fabric is soft, yet stretchy and supportive. While the tights are designed to avoid camel toes, give full coverage, they are also squat-proof. The co-founders share how combining trendy elements in terms of colours as well as look and feel was also an important factor while creating Ochre’s line of clothing. This is evident once you see how their sports bra and tights both can be taken from gym to brunch easily.
Conscious Approach
With changing times, a conscious approach to brand building has come to be of utmost importance. As a brand, ochre touches upon the subject beyond providing the need of the hour for women in sports. The brand’s small-batch production process and plastic-free packaging help minimize waste and reduce carbon footprint. The brand also donates an amount from every order to Kuddle Life Foundation, an NGO in Pondicherry, that works towards the preservation of the marine ecosystem.
Image Source: Instagram/ochreathletica
The brand also prides itself on its ‘for women, by women’ approach with a workforce comprising 95 per cent women. “Women uplift women, inspire them to discover and bring out a stronger version of themselves – just like we did. As women founders and activewear consumers ourselves, we understand the market well, address the gaps and work towards improving the functionality aspect of the current selection available in the market,” says Shanker, “we also understand the importance of telling women how important feeling comfortable and empowered in whatever they wear – no matter what size they are.”
Ready For Challenges
It’s safe to say no entrepreneur makes it without overcoming a number of challenges. In Ochre’s case, it’s the challenge of creating better awareness and lack of external support. “We take pride in being a truly Indian brand from source to store – However, in our efforts to handpick fabric and use more sustainable materials, there is lack of support from manufacturers with respect to sourcing the relevant fabrics owing to the lack of demand for the same. It is also a challenge to create demand for more conscious clothing being sold by a fairly new brand trying to create activewear that lasts you for a lifetime as compared to inexpensive options by fast-fashion brands amongst the Indian consumer. The shift in the consumer mindset from choosing safer options to becoming experimental with styles and colours is refreshing. However, there is still a long way to go when it comes to making the switch from fast-fashion to ethical brands that are trying to produce quality clothing in India,” adds Kakkar. According to the founders, the increased interest towards health and wellness post-COVID-19 has increased the demand for active wear as well.
Image Source: Instagram/ochreathletica
When asked about what one can do to combat entrepreneurial challenges, she said, “It doesn’t get easy, it definitely gets better with time. We just have to keep persistent and work towards improvising our creations and as young women navigating through business for the first time, it might get overwhelming and gruelling in the beginning. It’s already difficult to handle the inner critic in you but when these external voices of getting louder, the slight confidence you possess can seem insignificant. Push through, trust your instincts and work towards the problem you strive to solve.”
What’s in store for Ochre?
Besides more styles and more function, the brand is all set to introduce a new swimwear capsule, some exciting collaborations and a lot more steps towards making active wear sexier for women.