5 hours Ago
A businesswoman who spotted a gap in the kids' gym wear market is living her dream after a high-street retailer "pounced" on her new line of clothing. Philipa Ernst, 28, from Ramsbottom , founded athleisure wear brand, Wear Ari, from her dining room table when she was aged just 23. She studied sports at Bury College and "pretty much lived in gym wear".
Five years ago, the former Woodhey High School pupil had just given birth to her daughter, Ari, and wanted to create a clothing line offering comfortable but fashionable options. Wear Ari soon became a firm favourite with influencers and celebrities including TOWIE’s Chloe Lewis and Jessica Wright, Rebecca Vardy and Katie Price. Philipa said: “I knew I had all these amazing ideas, so decided to get them down on paper.
"I’d always wanted to work for myself and that dream soon took over. “It really took off and we eventually moved into an office space in Bury. I started ordering samples for Ari when she was about three and people loved them.
“It got a huge response and I soon realised that lots of mums wanted to be able to match outfits with their children. “There was a massive gap in the market for quality, comfortable kids active wear." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Wear ARI (@wearari) Philipa set up Wear Ari Kids and soon caught the eye of international high street giant, Foot Locker.
They immediately contacted Philipa with a view to collaborating, which led to the Wear Ari Kids spring collection being stocked in six Foot Locker stores. A launch party was hosted in the Bury branch on Saturday, April 19. Philipa said: “It was such a proud moment.
We know that people trust the brand and we [the team] are Bury girls at heart. “We do all of our photo shoots locally and really champion the town with lots of community involvement. “About 24 hours after the kids line had launched, they [Foot Locker] pounced on me! It was such an unreal moment – I still don’t believe it’s real!” The Wear Ari range consists of leggings, zip-up jackets and sports bras in block colours to allow customers to co-ordinate colours or mix and match, while the kids collection caters for children aged from four to nine.
Philipa added: “The children’s range has been selling out within days. We launched a new colour and it went within a day, so there is a very high demand for it. “I hope it’s going to boom.
The response so far has been fabulous. “The young girls love wearing them and tell us that they feel comfortable and confident. “Whether they’re doing gymnastics and athletics or day-to-day activities, it’s so important that girls can move freely while still being able to wear nice clothing.
” You can learn more about Wear Ari and Wear Ari Kids on their website and social media channels..
