For many women, activewear is all about compromise: You can either look trendy but lack support, or find items that enhance your body yet are basic and boring.
And if all that isn’t hard enough, then you actually need to get motivated to work out!
One brand that claims to be bridging the gap, however, is KIHT Collective – a Manchester-based group that says it’s creating ‘ethical gymwear for babes who care’.
The ethos of the company is to use fabrics that support performance while creating trendy designs – all-the-while being sustainable.
Danielle, the brains behind KIHT, began her work in the fashion industry as a designer in some of the city’s biggest fast fashion brands. But instantly, she knew it wasn’t the right fit for her.
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“Seeing and visiting factories in China and Bangladesh VS the glossy shoots, it just never sat well with me”, says Danielle.
Combining this passion for ethical clothing options and her love for health and fitness, Danielle was inspired to launch KIHT.
She believes that gymwear shouldn’t be a struggle between being fashionable or staying fit, and her brand was formed in response to the lack of affordable pieces.
“At the time, the only things on offer were not very feminine and covered in awful logos, unless you could afford to spend £100 on a pair of leggings,” she tells us.
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Danielle is also eager to prove that activewear isn’t exclusive for workout sessions, as their versatile, comfortable pieces – with squat-proof compression fabrics and adorable designs – styled for everyday wear.
But most important to her of all is creating a sustainable, transparent brand that customers can trust – with KIHT aiming for a low carbon footprint, ethical sourcing and using factories that don’t support wage labour.
“[I wanted] to create clothing to withstand a sweaty gym session, but makes you feel so good, you wanna wear it all the time!” says Danielle.
“And I wanted to try and give more people the choice to make a sustainable decision.”
You can shop the entire collection of stylish sportswear over on the KIHT website.
KIHT is also collaborating with TreeSisters to plant a tree with every purchase that is made.
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Hoardings spotted as Uniqlo prepares to open second Manchester store inside Trafford Centre
Emily Sergeant
Hoardings have officially been spotted, as Uniqlo prepares to open its second store in Greater Manchester.
The popular Japanese high street fashion retailer currently operates 24 stores in the UK, with its first British store having opened its doors all the way back in 2001, and its first European flagship store opening on Oxford Street in London in 2007 – but now, Manchester is about to get a second helping later this year.
Uniqlo has announced that it will be opening its second Greater Manchester inside the Trafford Centre, following the huge success of its city centre store opening on Market Street in 2019.
The Trafford Centre store makes Manchester the first location outside of London to have two Uniqlo stores.
Uniqlo prepares to open second its Manchester store inside the Trafford Centre / Credit: Trafford Centre (via Facebook) | The Manc Group
Shoppers at the Trafford Centre this week have spotted that hoardings for the new store – which is taking over the old Ted Baker store following its closure in April 2024 – have officially gone up, and it’s fair to say, they seem pretty excited about it.
“Uniqlo in Trafford Centre would be a dream come true,” another person said on Instagram, while a third added: “I will never have to step foot on Market Street again,” and plenty others chimed in with comments like “finally” and “can’t wait”.
Uniqlo’s arrival at the Trafford Centre follows the opening of several other high-profile stores in recent months, like Urban Outfitters, White Company, Stradivarius, and many more.
While no official timeline or dates for Uniqlo’s new Trafford Centre store have been announced, fashion business news outlet Drapers has reported that it’s set to open during the autumn/winter period.
Featured Image – The Manc Group
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Manchester City release new ‘The Decade Collection’ celebrating 10 years of Pep Guardiola
Danny Jones
Manchester City and PUMA have just released a new clothing line celebrating 10 seasons of Pep Guardiolaat the club.
Simply entitled ‘The Decade Collection’, the new PUMA range revolves entirely around Pep as he marks his 10th anniversary in charge of the Blues, focusing on minimalistic style.
Guardiola has always been a trendy bloke, often being highlighted for his fashion choices on the touchline – even some of the questionable ones…
But with a much plainer approach this time around, the Pep clothing collab
Debuting the lifestyle drop on Wednesday, 15 April, Man City wrote on social media, “Ten seasons on the touchline. Ten seasons of setting the standard.
“Introducing the Puma Football Decade Collection with the Pep Team – celebrating Pep’s ten seasons as our manager and inspired by memorable moments from his tenure at the Club.”
While it’s unclear how much (if any) of these new clothes the Catalan coach has helped design or had influence on, but given its exclusive nature, you can expect it to sell out pretty quickly.
They go on to add: “Created to honour a defining chapter that reshaped the club’s modern identity, this exclusive collection is available in limited quantities.
Starting at £30 for the cheapest item – a ‘P’ logo baseball cap – the most expensive part of the collection clocks in at £110: his special anniversary edition ‘Majesty Low Decade’ PUMA trainers.
You can see some more examples of what we’ve already seen him wearing, and what we’ll no doubt see him in pitchside very soon, down below.
Obviously, City has plenty of other brand partnerships when it comes to both official sports apparel and more casual clothing, many of which we’ve already seen the 55-year-old football manager wear, but you can almost guarantee he’ll be donning them for the coming fixtures.
You can see Man City x PUMA x Pep Guardiola ‘Decade Collection’ in full HERE.
Speaking of which, up next for Pep and co is what could prove to be THE big twist in this year’s Premier League campaign, with his squad of serial winners taking on league leaders Arsenal at home.
Not only did the Gunners’ surprise loss to Bournemouth last weekend help City close the gap on the top spot, but with them refinding their form ahead of hosting the title hopefuls at the Etihad Stadium, it all looks to be shifting back in their favour at the moment.
With seven games left, and one in hand compared to Arsenal, do you see them beating Mikel Arteta’s side to another trophy?
Daisy Bradbury -
22nd January 2021 
