Brand Profile
At arena, we are driven by the drive of others. From casual swimmers’ routine training, to rising athletes developing their performance and champions on their way to the finish line – we believe everyone has their own inspiration for getting into the water.
Sports visionary Horst Dassler’s inspiration to jump into the world of competitive swimwear was athlete Mark Spitz. At the 1972 Olympics, Dassler watched as Spitz made swimming history by winning seven Olympic gold medals and setting the world record in all seven events he competed in. Spitz’s spectacular performance and drive to win is what first drove Dassler to launch arena in 1973. Building from his experience, Dassler realized that developing a new standard of swimwear and equipment would require recruiting world class athletes to tirelessly study how to improve their performance and design for their expression and confidence both in and out of the water. The initial result was the release of arena’s Skinfit technology, an ultra-light fabric designed to fit a swimmer’s body like a second skin, that went on to revolutionize the performance and style of countless athletes and the world of aquatic sports forever.
Though being driven by the drive of others also means that we have always been compelled to evolve. As the lessons we have learned helping professional swimmers and aquatic sport athletes to win and achieve more continues to inspire our style and inform our groundbreaking research in fluid dynamics, textiles and bio-mechanics. With Dassler’s vision in mind, we have been able to make amazing discoveries about underwater performance and hydrodynamic design: such as how to reduce friction and drag, increase speed and buoyancy, regulate body temperature, optimize muscle compression to reduce fatigue, and improve overall stability while swimming. However our legacy of partnering with world class athletes has also thought us that designing for performance means more than simply delivering the best technology – it means delivering design that instils confidence and motivates all who wear it to reach their best potential.
Today, this spirit of collaboration and innovation lives on through a continuous evolution of advanced materials and Italian design that improves the performance, style and expression of all those who chose arena. This has meant an increased focus on the needs of all members of the swimming and aquatic sports community; from studying fabric resilience, UV protection, suit construction and shaping for the female figure to engineering sportswear for triathlons where competitors face the elements. From leading the lanes to living in style, arena is dedicated to providing all swimmers with the tools they need to express themselves, feel confident, win and achieve more.