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Being a gal who has always loved a good kickboxing workout, I was taken aback by the lack of options available for fighter girls. Confectionary handwraps and cotton candy pink boxing gloves hardly made a girl feel badass in a male-dominated boxing gym. Although I appreciate the big boxing gear companies trying to appeal to females with their use of ‘girly’ colors, there definitely is a gap in the market for the style-conscious ladies who are not afraid of going beast mode on the heavy bags every now and again. That’s why I was so excited to discover Kali Active, a fitness apparel brand targeted at strong girls, training to be fierce. My eyes lit up when I first spotted their stylish black and white, star print, hand wraps on Instagram (@kali_active). I love the edgy and urban vibe of their signature print, and am a huge fan of their fabrics which are light-weight and completely moisture-wicking. I am not afraid to break a sweat, but I am grateful that not everyone has to know just exactly how hard I’m working.
We had the opportunity to hang out with the sweet and beautiful Anjni Singh, Founder of Kali Active, at an activewear event recently and had the chance to ask her some questions about her line.
How would you describe the Kali Active girl?
The Kali Active girl is a confident, strong and kick ass woman. She’s not afraid to push the envelope and is willing to take on new challenges whether it be in life, career, or in the gym. She is most definitely on the go and doing some high energy workouts when she isn’t relaxing with her friends for a girls night out.
How did you come to design for the fighter girl?
Designing for the fighter girl was something I like to call a planned accident. I’ve always been influenced by combat workouts because they are very empowering for women and felt like that energy wasn’t really being captured or conveyed in the current market by other brands. I wanted to evoke a certain edge and grit and be as far away from being labeled a “yoga” brand. While I was creating the line, I was looking fornew boxing hand wraps and I couldn’t really find anything that I liked that wasn’t pink so I decided to design some. That kind of sealed the boxing vibe for us and we decided to go with it.
- Anjni Singh, Founder of Kali Active
What do you think of the rise of boutique boxing gyms – the new “it” workout?
I think it’s great and a much welcomed change of pace. I’m just not a fan of calling it a trend though. It’s always been there but it just rose to popularity because of women like Ronda Rousey, Laila Ali and when women’s boxing was finally given the go ahead by the Olympics committee in 2012. Women are facing way more pressure and stress these days to “lean in” on the career and family front so I think we just need that hour to go and punch the crap out of something to help take back our confidence. I doubt downward dog and a few sun salutations are cutting it for some women these days.
What sets your fabrics apart?
We have only issued our first group at the moment but having designed for other brands for 11 years, I wanted to make sure I was using quality fabrics for every item. Our main performance fabric is made with a type of micro technology that fuses a natural anti microbial agent called Chitosan with the fibers of the fabric. Chitosan is eco conscious and has great durability with a soft hand feel. The cotton we use is also made with environmentally friendly bamboo. For our next group, we are working with 3M reflective materials to build in safety features in a fun and stylish way. We are also working with another technical fabric on creating some leggings that help with the wearer’s performance during intense workouts by aiding blood flow and muscle recovery.
What’s in store for Kali Active as you continue to grow?
We are currently prototyping some really cool boxing gloves (that aren’t pink!) and working on our next group of performance tees. We are hoping to keep trying to get our brand out there so we can continue to work on these really cool products we have in the pipeline. We see the market’s interest is shifting towards technical and transitional pieces and that’s the direction we are headed. We always want to be riding the fine line between style and function instead of being too caught up with chasing trends.
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Love this!