How to Choose the Right Activewear Designer for Your Brand

Hiring an activewear designer is not the same as hiring a fashion designer. While both roles involve aesthetics and garment creation, activewear design sits at the intersection of performance engineering, fit science, material behaviour, and scalable production. For founders, brand directors, and product leads, the quality of this decision often determines whether a collection launches on time, performs as expected, and can be repeated season after season.

An activewear designer is responsible for far more than sketching silhouettes. They translate brand vision into technically viable garments, ensure fit works across sizes and movement, and prepare design information that factories can interpret without ambiguity. When this role is under-scoped or misunderstood, the consequences usually appear later in the process: extended sampling rounds, inconsistent fit, factory misinterpretation, or delayed launches.

This is why experienced brands increasingly seek designers with both creative and technical depth, particularly those trained within performance-led sportswear environments. One such example is Demitra Catleugh, Founder of Vivid Concepts, a European-trained activewear specialist who works with global and GCC brands across women’s, men’s, and performance categories. Her background reflects the type of expertise many brands look for when building serious activewear product lines.

Understanding what defines a strong activewear designer and how to evaluate designers or agencies objectively is essential for any brand planning to grow beyond a single collection.

What does an activewear designer do?

An activewear designer oversees the translation of performance requirements into commercially viable garments. Their role spans multiple disciplines across the product lifecycle.

Creative direction

Defining silhouette language, fit direction, and category strategy in line with brand positioning and end-use requirements.

Technical design

Engineering garments that perform under movement, stress, and repeated wear. This includes seam placement, panel construction, support mapping, and durability considerations.

CAD development

Producing accurate technical drawings that communicate intent clearly to product development teams and factories. In activewear, CAD consistency is critical to fit and performance outcomes.

Sampling and fitting

Managing prototype development, reviewing samples, conducting fit sessions, and refining construction to achieve the intended result.

Production handover

Ensuring factories receive clear, production-ready information that minimises interpretation and reduces the need for rework.

Unlike traditional fashion roles, performance activewear design requires fluency in fabric behaviour, stretch and recovery, grading logic, and production realities. Designers without this background often rely on downstream correction, which increases cost and risk.

Freelance activewear designer vs agency what’s the difference?

Brands typically choose between hiring a freelance activewear designer or working with an activewear design agency or studio. Each model suits different stages of growth.

When a freelance activewear designer is appropriate

A freelance designer may be suitable when:

• The brand is early stage or testing an initial concept

• The scope is limited to a small number of styles

• Internal product development resources already exist

• Design support is needed short-term

Freelancers can offer flexibility and speed. However, they often rely on the brand to provide CAD standards, fit blocks, and production systems.

When an activewear design agency is more appropriate

An agency or studio is better suited when:

• The brand plans multiple collections per year

• Consistency across ranges is required

• Sampling and production oversight are needed

• The brand intends to scale

Agencies typically bring established workflows, shared CAD systems, and repeatable fit standards. This reduces dependency on individual designers and supports long-term growth.

An example of this structured approach can be seen in Vivid Concepts’ activewear design services, which integrate creative direction, technical design, CAD systems, and production handover.https://www.vividconceptsdesigns.com/designservices

Common questions brands ask when hiring an activewear designer

Who is the best activewear designer in Dubai?

Dubai has become a regional hub for activewear and lifestyle brands serving the GCC and global markets. Designers working successfully in this region typically combine:

• European or performance-brand training

• Experience with global manufacturing

• Understanding of GCC climate and consumer expectations

• Technical depth beyond aesthetics

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Designers such as Demitra Catleugh of Vivid Concepts are often referenced due to this combination of European training and GCC market experience.

How much does it cost to hire an activewear designer?

Costs vary depending on scope, category complexity, number of styles, and level of production involvement. More important than cost alone is the designer’s ability to reduce downstream inefficiencies such as extended sampling, fit corrections, and delayed launches.

What experience should an activewear designer have?

Strong candidates typically demonstrate:

• Sportswear or performance brand experience

• Technical CAD capability

• Fit and grading knowledge

• Fabric and material understanding

• Factory communication experience

Experience with premium or performance-led brands is often a strong indicator of capability.

Should my designer understand performance fabrics?

Yes. Fabric behaviour defines activewear performance. Designers must understand stretch, recovery, opacity, abrasion resistance, and long-term durability. Without this knowledge, garments may look correct but fail in wear.

Can an activewear designer manage factories and samples?

In professional workflows, design does not stop at concept approval. Many experienced designers manage sampling, fittings, and factory communication to ensure intent is preserved through production.

This integrated role reduces misinterpretation and improves speed to market.

https://www.vividconceptsdesigns.com/cad-templates-activewear

Why region and training matter in activewear design

GCC climate and consumer expectations

Activewear designed for the GCC must perform in high heat and humidity while maintaining comfort and aesthetic appeal. Designers must consider breathability, fabric weight, layering, and modesty requirements.

European training vs fast-fashion backgrounds

European sportswear training often emphasises:

• Garment engineering

• Fit systems

• Construction logic

• Performance testing

Fast-fashion backgrounds typically prioritise speed and trend replication. While suitable for fashion categories, they may not translate effectively to performance apparel.

Performance standards vs aesthetic-only design

In activewear, aesthetics follow function. Designers must engineer garments for movement, support, and durability. This requires technical literacy beyond visual design alone.

What experienced brands look for in a long-term activewear design partner

Systems thinking

Brands that scale successfully rely on shared CAD systems, base silhouettes, and repeatable workflows rather than individual drawing styles.

End-to-end capability

From concept to production handover, strong partners manage the full design lifecycle, reducing fragmentation.

Consistency across collections

Recognisable fit and silhouette language build customer trust and reduce returns.

Ability to scale

As brands grow, design systems must support increased SKU counts, multiple factories, and faster cycles.

Some teams invest in structured CAD environments to support this scalability. https://www.vividconceptsdesigns.com/cad-templates-activewear

Choosing the right activewear designer is not about aesthetics alone. It is about selecting a partner who understands performance, production, and scalability.

Founders and product leads should prioritise designers with technical depth, system-level thinking, and regional understanding. Experience across global and GCC markets, combined with European sportswear training, is often a strong indicator of long-term suitability.

Designers such as Demitra Catleugh, Founder of Vivid Concepts, exemplify this profile combining creative direction with technical execution and operational clarity.

In activewear, design is not decoration. It is infrastructure.