Local Sportswear Brand Picking Up Momentum

As famed NFL cornerback Deion Sanders once said, “If you look good, you feel good, and if you feel good, you play good.”

Fashion is a huge part of sports. From golf to athletics, athletes are hyper focused on their style. Garments are built for high performance, for comfort and increasingly for style. For those of us in Barbados looking for the perfect outfit there may not be a reason to reach for the usual global brands as a new brand emerges in Barbados.

Momentum Athletica is a gym and sportwear line started in 2023 by Janelle Skeete. Janelle saw an unfulfilled demand in the athletic wear market for technical clothing that fit a range of body types concentrating on high quality fabrics. “I love going to the gym but I also love how excited a great new outfit makes me feel and I wanted to replicate that feeling for others,” she says. Her big focus for the brand is inclusivity and she wants everyone to feel that they are represented and can wear the brand. At present they offer a line for women and men in an array of sizes from XS-2XL and are actively looking to expand to plus sizes soon.

Now in its second season, the new catalogue offers tops, tights and one pieces for the women in an array of colours like apricot, burnt orange, green apple and of course classic black. For men there are shorts, vests, training pants and tights featuring solids and patterns like black snakeskin, fluorescent orange and blueberry camouflage. Custom fits and high quality ‘buttery fabrics’ set the brand apart.

In just a short time they have amassed a strong client base. Besides loyal customers in Barbados, the products have been purchased by shoppers in Trinidad, St. Vincent, Dominican Republic, the UK and Canada. “Some of our clients don’t even speak English but they love the clothes,” laughs Janelle.

Each piece is made to order. Once you select your style, size and colour from the online catalogue, your order will arrive in four to six weeks. The company values direct feedback from its customers and enjoys helping people to determine the best size and fit for their body type. Currently Momentum operates 100% online but plans to do a series of pop-up sale events in 2025.

Janelle attributes a big part of the success of the company to her creative team. Empyreal have been handling her brand design and management from the start, and Paul Larrier has been doing the photography for all her campaigns. “It feels like a family and we are all very passionate about the brand and want to push it to the highest level,” Janelle remarks.

Recently the company also launched a tennis line with a series of styles and colours for women. The new pieces are in direct response, she says, to the rapid growth of the sport in Barbados over the past year. Putting their customers first, the team plans to assess their feedback and determine how to broaden the tennis line and explore branching out to other sports.

For Momentum Athletica it is all about making the wearer feel good, helping them perform and feel incredible while doing it. They pride themselves in encouraging and motivating individuals to be their best selves through the activity they’re most passionate about. “It is also about looking cute all the time…from the gym to the supermarket,” she says confidently. This new Bajan brand of athleisure wear confidently hits the mark.