Inter Fashion Online

Luxury leggings designed and constructed in Pharr

When a job opportunity necessitated a move to Miami, McAllen native Raquel Ponce was set to transition to a healthier lifestyle.
Ponce, who described herself as overweight at the time, started practicing hot yoga at a studio. Classes were full of fit, thin women in stylish yoga pants, she recalled.
“I was wearing plain, black pants,” Ponce said. “I wanted to fit in, and I wanted to be like everyone else.”
She feared she was too big to wear fun, bright colors, creative patterns or textures. They’d make her look bigger, she thought.
After losing weight, Ponce eagerly purchased a stylish pair of leggings — size medium — from the studio, and she loved them at first. It wasn’t until Ponce struck poses, like plank and downward-facing dog, that she noticed the limitations of her new apparel.
Her studio-purchased pants would slide, exposing her belly, she said.
“I didn’t feel comfortable in my yoga class,” she said.
“Why don’t we make our own leggings the way we want?”
Miami FitWear was founded because the average American woman isn’t built to fit into conventional yoga pants, Ponce said. Ponce had no experience in apparel or textiles — her husband did.
The pair of McAllen Memorial graduates met at the University of Texas at San Antonio at 19, and reconnected in South Florida a few years ago. His work is in seamless wear, but that wasn’t Ponce’s passion.
They decided to create the brand, buy wholesale, distribute and solicit feedback.
Ponce said they got mixed reviews from the products. This information was crucial when launching their original brand of luxury leggings, Kali — inspired by the Hindu goddess of empowerment and rebirth, she said.
“Why don’t we make our own legging the way we want?” said Ponce, which was a proposition that proved easier said than done. It took her two years to find the right fabric that would to meet her needs.
The couple decided to return to the Valley because “we wanted to bring this to our hometown,” Raquel said, which brought Miami FitWear to it’s base in Pharr — an inconspicuous shopping center off south Cage Boulevard.
Miami FitWear’s team designs, cuts fabric, sews and adheres designs out of their singular Valley location.
Ponce created the brand to help women feel empowered, and in an attempt to minimize self-consciousness that could hinder an individual’s performance or activity, she said.
Pants use 8-Way Stretch fabric, which prevent transparency when stretched. High-waisted pants are cut to suck in a wearer’s stomach and compress muscles through the legs.
“When you’re working out, you don’t have to worry about your thighs and butt jiggling,” Ponce said.
Sewers combine pieces using a strong, flatlock stitching, which make the leggings difficult to rip, she said. They also incorporated a cotton gusset, for hygienic purposes.
Ponce also employees in-house professional artists that sometimes hand draw and scans designs. Bright colors and creative, intricate designs are in the DNA of the brand.
“I wanted to have something where women would express themselves through clothes,” Ponce said. “It’s really fun when you can see someone that feels like they can’t wear a pattern or something with color, and they try it on — they’re so happy.”
dflores@themonitor.com