Fashion advice for those experiencing symptoms of menopause – particularly hot flushes – has rarely ventured beyond wearing light, loose layers. Now, however, several brands are developing clothes with technology designed for menopausal women.
An anti-flush nightdress is the bestselling item for clothing brand Become, which was launched in 2016 and has this year seen sales rise by 213%. Another brand, Cucumber Clothing, sells garments made using “volcanic mineral to help keep your body at the ideal core temperature”. Its range includes nightdresses, track pants and pyjamas. Fifty One Apparel, launched last year with the slogan “cool clothes for hot women”, says its technology “ensures heat is taken away from the body and stored and released back when the body begins to cool down”.
The Fifty One Apparel owner Louise Nicholson said: “I had a textile agency and was selling fabrics to the big retailers. I was listening to a guy on the radio talk about what his wife was going through and I thought, ‘I’ve got a fabric in my car that could really help this woman’.”
Her garments use “Certified Space Technology” material, originally developed by Nasa, that regulates temperature using “a method of microencapsulation where the phase-change materials are enclosed in a polymer shell”. And they are not aimed just at those experiencing night sweats. “Everything we’ve designed could be worn in bed or to the office. It’s multi-functional,” said Nicholson.
For its part, Become says its tops, leggings and nightdresses are made with a flat thread and knitted on a cross-section to produce a bigger surface area, allowing warmth to be transferred away more efficiently. While Become’s clothes also offer wicking capabilities – like some sportswear – it argues that such products are not specifically designed to manage hot flush perspiration, where heat tends to be generated very quickly.
It’s not just fashion that is embracing the menopause market; the beauty industry is also getting in on the act. Pause is a US skincare brand offering products such as a “Hot Flash Cooling Mist”, which also encourages collagen production, while a fellow US company, Pepper & Wits, offers oestrogen-free lotions, creams and dietary supplements.
“Women experiencing menopausal symptoms have until recently been underserved as far as products and services to help them manage their symptoms are concerned,” said Joanna Brewis, professor of people and organisations at the Open University and co-author of a 2017 government report on the effects of menopause on women’s economic participation. “Women in this age group can feel overlooked by a clothing and beauty market that predominantly targets younger women.”
She said the majority of women she had spoken to reported feeling more confident in managing hot flushes when wearing specially designed clothing. Some, however, were sceptical about the claims, and alleged that the products were just rebranded versions of existing ones. Some brands, including Fifty One Apparel, have also been criticised for their use of relatively young and perimenopausal women as models and ambassadors.
“Brands need to be very careful about their messaging,” said Brewis. “Every woman’s trajectory is unique, so any stereotyping is problematic. The same is true of images suggesting menopause is something that happens to older women. And then there are the people who don’t identify as women, because they are transgender or gender non-conforming, but experience menopause nonetheless.”