Significant changes are on the horizon for dancewear retail in 2025. To help you navigate them, Dance Retailer News spoke with dancewear manufacturers to uncover emerging trends and how you can leverage them for success.
Logo Love
According to Luis Guimarães, founder of handmade dancewear brand Ballet Rosa, classwear printed with studio logos is going to be hot. From talking to studios and retailers, he believes that “bespoke uniforms bring students and studios together. Retailers that can harness that potential can create stronger loyalty bonds with their customers.”
Haven’t offered custom-logo dancewear yet? Now is the time to give it a try. The benefits for retailers are clear: If the studio specifies a logoed leotard, they’re not going to be able to buy it on Shein or at Walmart; they’ll need to come to you.
There are also drawbacks, however. Namely, if you overorder a custom item, you could get stuck with merchandise you can’t sell to anyone other than students from a specific studio. The key to success is to work closely with studios to get accurate numbers. You’ll need to set a schedule for checking in with them, ordering, and pushing them for updates. It’s work, but it’s worth it.
Prepaid preorders, such as at the beginning of term, can help. Finding a supplier with a quick turnaround and the ability to respond promptly, especially during busy times like back-to-school season, is particularly important. Guimarães recommends providing manufacturers with initial numbers on the products you will need to “avoid bottlenecks on production resulting in delays for short-term orders.” Checking with your fellow retailers can also help you identify who can deliver reliably and who tends to get backed up during crunch time.
Whatever you do, resist the urge to offer a discount: You’re already giving value by offering custom dancewear without adding additional savings into the mix. You can’t afford to do it, either—you’ll need full margins to cover any merchandise that doesn’t sell.
The Dance Boom Among Adults
According to Kelly McCaughey from Só Dança, adults have been taking up dance in droves. Since the pandemic, the interest in all styles has exploded. That’s a great thing for dancewear retailers. “Adult dancers want to feel good and look pretty,” says McCaughey. “Leotards, tights, skirts, sweaters, bags—they want it all.” And, it seems, they want to go into stores to buy them.
Dancers over 30 aren’t shaped like teenagers, so they know they’ll need to try a lot on to get the right fit. As a result, ordering online isn’t best suited to their needs. That’s where you can come in by stocking dancewear that fits a more mature figure. Só Dança shares that the brand’s Curvy Collection has been particularly popular with adults due to the comfortable fit.
The needs of adults differ in other ways, too: Often, they prefer longer, opaque skirts, and prioritize quality over pricing. Many love to spend money on their new hobbies, so you shouldn’t be afraid of showing them your best models—they’ll be happy to invest in a new leotard if it’s beautiful and fits well. Some may also want to be more covered than younger dancers. In 2025, why not consider what you stock that can make older dancers feel dancerly yet modest? Ballet Rosa’s Bamboo series, for example, has many pieces that would suit this type of customer.
Ensuring adults are well-represented in your marketing is also important. Start by segmenting them in your customer database. By doing this, you can make sure you email them with products that speak to their needs, and that you use images they can relate to. Adult recreational dancers are rekindling a dream. Promote the dream, and you’ll make the sale.
Back to Basics
It was different from region to region, but after the pandemic, uniform requirements went out the window. Tops from Walmart, shorts from Shein; whatever students wanted to wear was acceptable, as studios were just happy to have them back in class. That was hard on dance retail.
Yet all that seems to be changing. Guimarães from Ballet Rosa has noticed that more classical schools are once again insisting on leotards and tights. Kiley Stoker from Eurotard is seeing the same trend. She adds that schools are looking for leotards with a more modern silhouette and a higher legline.
Other Trends to Watch…
There are plenty of micro-trends, too, that manufacturers are noticing. Só Dança’s dance-top business has returned, for example. Apparently, the company’s longer tops sell particularly well due to their uniqueness and ability to help dancers stand out at conventions. Stoker says she’s also noticed a surge in studios using embroidery for branding and marketing purposes.
Though trend shifts may seem challenging, they present exciting opportunities for retailers to adapt and thrive. By understanding the changes and being creative about solutions, you’ll see your businesses grow.
Gilbert Russell is a seasoned dancewear retailer who helps independent stores thrive through his book “Retail AI Unleashed,” coaching programs, speaking engagements, and weekly newsletter.