Nicky, founder of Flanci, has been a runner for a long time. Her company grew from her passion, but also her desire to run in something that wasn’t plain black. “I said to my husband, I’d love to start my own business with colour and skorts!” and sure enough, they did. Flanci set up five years ago, with Nicky and Alf at the helm, together with a surface pattern designer – Jan Olive – who Nicky had bumped into at a party. Together, they began by creating prototypes.
“We started with leggings, capris and skorts. The skorts have been our biggest selling item and have gone from strength to strength. They aren’t for everybody, because the fabric is a bit heavy and they’re swirly, but we did that on purpose: I wanted to make skorts that people could use not only for running, but for going on holiday, for stand-up paddleboarding, for anything, really. I think that’s why skorts are so popular: they’re not just for running.”