Two New Sports Bra Innovations that Solve for Everyday Problems

The sports bra has a much harder job than the everyday bra. With the goal to offer the support, comfort and confidence women need in order to absolutely crush a workout, this piece of apparel, which often goes unseen, should be synonymous with the descriptors “functional” and “reliable.” After all, going without a good bra means going without sport.

Nike Senior Creative Director for Women’s Bras and Innovation Nicole Rendone doesn’t want that to happen. 

To Rendone, a good sports bra can change a woman’s life, and that should happen effortlessly. “Women already face enough complications in their daily lives,” says Rendone. “A sports bra shouldn’t be one of them.” 

Enter Nike’s two newest problem-solving bra innovations: the Nike Swoosh One Piece Pad Sports Bra and the Nike Ultrabreathe Sports Bra.

 Solving the Pad Problem with the Nike Swoosh One Piece Pad

The Problem: Two uneven, misplaced or misshapen pads
The Solution: Nike Swoosh One Piece Pad

Let’s face it: Pad problems are real in women’s sports bras. They’re hard to insert and sometimes even harder to smooth once they’re finally put in correctly. They can lead to misshapen boobs, or they fall out in the wash, never to be seen or paired correctly together again.

The Nike Swoosh Bra is the company’s classic, no worries take-you-anywhere sports bra, and it just got a major upgrade with the One Piece Pad innovation that solves for all the aforementioned cup hassles. 

Never done before in sports bras, the new Nike Swoosh One Piece Pad Sports Bra solves the uneven, misshapen and misplaced pad problem with a top-loading, singular bra pad (which can also serve as a pocket system for storage). Crafted to seamlessly insert and remove as desired, the new iteration of the Nike Swoosh bra additionally employs slightly thicker padding for more modesty and an enhanced shape. 

Rendone and team evaluated how women’s sizing changes across demographics and evolved the bra’s design and shaping, as well as the materials, to give women the various support levels they need.

The foam construction of the One Piece Pad is molded and edited by size, using a stronger fabric once hitting a certain size to ensure optimal support. The end goal is to really solve the pad problem across the board. 

“We’re solving this problem that women have just put up with and dealt with, thinking it was something that they didn’t have a choice about,” says Rendone. “The Nike Swoosh One Piece Pad really underscores how we’re committed to providing a better sports bra for women based on feedback and research directly from them" 

The Nike Swoosh One Piece Pad Sports Bra flows into market on January 1 and releases globally January 16 on nike.com. 

 Let the Girls Breathe with the Nike Ultrabreathe Sports Bra

The Problem: Boob sweat and a wet bra that stays wet. 
The Solution: Nike Ultrabreathe Sports Bra.

The Nike Ultrabreathe Sports Bra is Nike’s lightest and most moisture-repelling bra to date (it was inspired by Rendone, after working out in one of the most humid environments on the planet, jumping in a pool to cool off and coming back to a soggy bra hours later).

Rendone and her team constructed the Nike Ultrabreathe Sports Bra — in light, medium and strong support iterations — using sweat mapping as a guide to see where women typically sweat and where they need more breathability. 

Areas of the bra that are exposed, or cut out, signify areas that need ample breathability. The areas that aren’t exposed tend to need more support when in motion and are supported with new engineered mesh for air permeability.

The Nike Ultrabreathe Sports Bra releases in medium support January 30 in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and globally in medium support February 6 on nike.com.