Construcciones Yamaro: Zadie Workwear changes the game for women on the tools
NexGen spotlights Zadie Workwear, a brand addressing the long-standing gap in fit, function and comfort for women working on construction sites.
By Lauren Fahey, executive director at NexGen.
If you’ve spent any time on a construction site, you already know the drill: long days, tough conditions and workwear that’s supposed to keep up. But for women on the tools, there’s been a long-standing, unspoken truth that most workwear has never been made for women. It’s traditionally been designed for the “average bloke”, with women left to make do.
But that tide is finally shifting. And one brand leading that shift from the front is Zadie Workwear.
Zadie isn’t just another label throwing pink on a pair of men’s pants and calling it women’s gear. This is workwear built from real experience, frustration and a desire to fix a problem that should’ve been solved years ago. The brand was founded by plumber-turned-tiny-home-builder Aimee Stanton, who learned the hard way what it feels like to climb ladders, crouch, stretch and sweat in clothes that simply weren’t made for her.
Anyone who’s ever worn ill-fitting PPE knows exactly what she’s talking about.
Zadie was born out of a simple but long-overdue idea that workwear should fit the people doing the work. Aimee spent years trying to find pants that didn’t ride up, gape at the back or squeeze her thighs. Her experience wasn’t unique. After conducting her own research, she found only 7 per cent of women in construction felt satisfied with the comfort and fit of their workwear.
Zadie stepped in with designs that prioritise the hips, thighs and waist (the areas where generic workwear usually fails women). From high-rise and mid-rise options to the brand’s DUO-COMFORT waistbands, every product is built around how women move, bend, lift and work.
It’s thoughtful, it’s functional, and honestly, it’s about time.
Zadie uses ripstop materials, 360-degree stretch cotton, reinforced areas where women actually need reinforcement, and cuts that move with your body rather than against it.
Zadie’s pants, shorts and overalls aren’t just “women’s versions” of men’s gear; they’re their own thing entirely. They’re made to handle proper trade work, long shifts, hot days, early starts, muddy sites and everything in between. They’re tough but still comfortable, exactly what women on site have been asking for.
What I personally love most about Zadie is that it’s not just a clothing brand; it’s a community. At the brand’s launch event, tradeswomen modelled the gear themselves, showcasing workwear on real bodies, including Aimee at 37 weeks pregnant.
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It sends a clear message: every woman, every shape, size, background and trade, deserves to feel comfortable, capable and confident at work.
That sense of belonging and representation matters, because workwear shouldn’t make women feel like an afterthought. It should empower them.
We talk a lot in construction about skills shortages, diversity, retention and the future workforce. But we rarely stop to think about the small, practical barriers that push talented women out, and poorly fitted workwear is one of them.
When you’re constantly pulling up your pants, battling wedgies, fixing gaping waistbands or dealing with PPE that wasn’t designed for you, it affects your comfort, safety and focus.
Zadie directly addresses those barriers with purpose-driven design rooted in lived experience.
This isn’t just a “nice to have”. It’s industry progress.
With women continuing to enter construction at increasing rates, the industry needs brands like Zadie – brands that genuinely get it.
What started as one tradie’s frustration has turned into a movement that champions women, lifts standards and builds community. And as far as I’m concerned, that’s the kind of progress worth amplifying.
Because when women feel properly equipped for the job, they’re not just more comfortable; they’re more confident, more capable and more likely to stick around. And that’s good for all of us.
The post Zadie Workwear changes the game for women on the tools appeared first on Inside Construction.
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