Once upon a time tradies had little choice of gear to wear to wear to work, today blue-collar worker scrubs up a lot better with a wide choice of practical apparel to choose from. Sydney based work wear supplier Salvatore Avati says there is a revolution going on in the work wear industry. “Long gone are the days when tradesmen like builders, plumbers and electricians had no choice but boring, and often uncomfortable navy or grey cotton drills,” says Mr Avati. “Today some tradies look like they’re more comfortable on a catwalk than in a muddy trench,” he says. “Just as we have seen huge innovation in fashion, the same changes are taking place in work wear and safety gear.” “Bright colours and high tech fabrics are designed for comfort and functionality.” “They also satisfy Industry and safety regulations.” “This trend has taken off in the last few years as big Aussie work wear brands like Hard Yakka and King Gee increase their market share in the booming industry.” “Still though 90 per cent of work wear sold in Australia is now made overseas.” “There are also a lot of fakes, or copy cat designs that come out just after the big players have spent millions on research and design.” “It’s easy to get confused with all the different types of product available but when it comes to choosing the right work gear, it often comes down to budget.” “You don’t have to stick with one of the major brands as some of the smaller brands are just as good.” Mr Avati says the biggest developments in the work wear industry are:
Mr Avati says the response from tradies has been great and they are very receptive to the changes in standard wear. Salvatore Avati
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