Last year, former Air NZ aeronautical designer Geoff Gates decided to swap aeroplanes with activewear to launch his sustainable brand, Zovari. Zovari’s range of leggings, sports bras and tank tops are all made from recycled products such as old fishing nets, plastic bottles and wetsuits. Gates describes the brand as bridging the gap between high performance and fashion. It’s a far cry from his previous role designing multi-million dollar interiors of private jets and Boeing, Airbus and Air NZ aircraft.Here Gates chats with Inside Retail about what inspired him to enter the retail industry and what he’s learnt since he launched his own business.Inside Retail: How has your career as an Air NZ aeronautical designer helped you create the activewear range and launch the brand?  Geoff Gates: My engineering roles have allowed me to develop strong project management and problem-solving skills, which have assisted me greatly in building the foundations of a strong brand. Having experience in areas such as supply chain, commercial, and project management has allowed me to bring a transferable skill set that complements my creative side to ensure that we are not only creative but also a healthy business for the long term. IR: Tell me how you got your start in this business and what you love about working on ZovariGG: Seeing an opportunity to create something that resonated with my skills and ambition was the beginning of the brand. I am passionate about building brand experiences and products that are on another level. The process of creating something from nothing is what keeps me coming back for more, and of course, seeing people around town wearing your designs makes it all worth it. The industry has traditionally been dominated by brands with limited size ranges and limited diversity. Ethically, we have some real concerns about the message this sends women and we wanted to ensure our range inspires and includes all women no matter what their shape or size.Currently the size ranges from extra small to XXL and along with the sustainable fabrics the cardboard packaging is also recycled and reusable.As the range grows we hope to expand the offering to include a greater number of sizes and styles for a more diverse range of body shapes.IR: What interesting insights have you gathered since you launched the brand?GG: We have learnt a lot about the importance of having physical retail partners in what is becoming a very online world. As a new brand, our customers like to have the opportunity to physically hold and try on our products to understand the brand, sizing and fit. This helps us to communicate our brand to our customers in ways that cannot be achieved purely online. IR: How would you describe the activewear category?GG: Activewear is becoming very saturated. The market is flooded with average products at average prices with a lack of emotional connection. We see that people are now looking for brands that they connect with on a deeper level than just the product. People want to stand for something. Our values of sustainability and being a Kiwi brand are two examples of values that our customers really resonate with. IR: Do you plan to open a physical store for your business?GG: We plan to open a concept store within the next two years. This will allow us to provide an immersive experience to our customer and create an environment that helps us communicate our brand difference. IR: What are your plans for the brand this year?GG: This year is all about the brand for us. We are focused on building a community of people who are passionate about what we stand for and who love our products. We will do several releases this year and build our network of retail partners alongside live events and collaborations.