Doing things differently
At CONTRA, we do things differently. Our sizing is one of these things.
Every product is available in ten sizes for both men and women, and the clothing doesn't just get larger or smaller, the whole shape changes across the range of sizing.
We talk to Tim Soar, CONTRA Product Designer and Paul Sinton-Hewitt, CONTRA and parkrun Founder to find out how CONTRA sizing is different.
Tim -
"The typical way to create clothing is with a pattern that goes from small to large, you have a set of measurements and that set of measurements increase on a largely linear fashion.
"We tried doing that and it completely didn’t work, particularly for women, because the whole ratio of a woman’s body changes when they become larger and smaller.
"We ended up with two totally different pattern blocks. That allows you to get the balance of a garment that fits someone who is a size 20 and a completely different balance of garment to fit someone who is a size 10. It was an incredible amount of work."
Paul Sinton-Hewitt:
"With the traditional way of making clothes, the front and the back fit exactly, so it’s really quick, but when we got to the factory, the pattern blocks we had made to create that balance of fit meant the fronts and the backs didn't match across our bigger and smaller sizes.
"We had to spend extra time making the garments, so it’s a complex process that we have underway and everyone says that you can’t do it, but we’re there."
