Viewpoint: Lessons from a textile collaboration
Steph Cole
The middle of Montana and the eastern edge of Louisiana may seem worlds apart, but when it comes to equipping women with gear that can keep up with them, we found common ground through a recent partnership with students in Louisiana State University’s textile and manufacturing program.
For most of modern history, women in the trades have been asked to adapt - to tools, to job sites, and especially to gear that was never designed with them in mind. Ill-fitting workwear isn’t just an inconvenience; it’s a barrier to safety, performance, and belonging. At Red Ants Pants, we started with a simple premise: women deserve better. Increasingly, the next generation of designers is stepping up to meet that challenge with fresh thinking and real innovation.
Collaborations like our partnership with LSU matter because students aren’t just sketching ideas - they’re tackling a persistent market gap with technical skill and creativity. They’re studying body mechanics, fabric performance, and fit with precision, then applying those insights to design workwear that actually works for women’s bodies.
The timing couldn’t be more important. Women are one of the fastest-growing segments in construction, agriculture, and manufacturing. Yet the market has been slow to respond. For too long, “women’s workwear” meant smaller sizes and different colors, not a fundamentally different approach to design. Broader economic trends - what some have called the “She-conomy” - underscore the influence women now have as workers, consumers, and innovators. But real progress depends on more than demand; it requires people willing to rethink the status quo.
That’s where education and industry partnerships come in. When students design for real customers with real needs, they learn how to identify gaps and build solutions from the ground up. They also learn something AI can’t replicate: the discipline of making a product that works in the real world. Materials have limits. Construction matters. The difference between a good idea and a great product is often invisible on paper but obvious in practice.
One standout student design proved that point: an urban-inspired collection that still performed on a ranch, moving seamlessly from field to town without sacrificing function. It didn’t choose between form and function; it demanded both.
At Red Ants Pants, we were founded to solve a problem: workwear that didn’t fit, function, or respect the women wearing it. That mission hasn’t changed. The future of workwear will be shaped by those willing to design with intention - and by a commitment to getting the details right where it matters most.
Steph Cole is the CEO of Red Ants Pants based in White Sulphur Springs. She is also a Louisiana State University alumna (MBA 2019)