Bike Radar interviews FINDRA’s founder and designer in their latest online article. They asked her about what motivated her to start up a new woman’s clothing brand, and why she took the approach she has to design and manufacturing.
FINDRA IS BREAKING THE MOULD WITH GROWN-UP MOUNTAIN BIKE KIT FOR WOMEN
It’s been described as mountain bike kit for grown-ups. Based in Scotland, new brand FINDRA has gone from startup to award-winning business in just over a year. It’s testament to the strength of vision of founder and designer Alex Feechan – and to the growth of women’s cycling.
The women’s mountain bike clothing brand launched in late 2014. Within its first year, the choice of technical fabrics, natural colour palette, dedication to function and understated styling – which contrasts markedly with the majority of women’s bike clothing on the market – not only gained the company a loyal customer base, but launched it onto the pages of online cycling retailer Wiggle.
Feechan comes from a design background, having worked for many years in the fashion industry. Her approach is based, she says, in researching the market to determine what women want – and designing products from the ground up.
“I started FINDRA because of my own passion for biking, and my background in design.” Feechan tells BikeRadar. “I started riding a few years ago and got really hooked on it, and decided to go buy some kit to wear. I felt there was nothing out there for me as a woman that was particularly well designed or looked or felt good.
“It felt like everything that was available suffered from the ‘shrink it and pink it’ approach, which is basically taking a man’s product, reducing it in size and adding a pink flower or go faster stripes to it, which felt condescending,” she adds. “With my background in design, I felt there was an opportunity to do something more interesting.”
