Aerial arts costumes split into two distinct orders most studios place every year. The first is the performance unitard or leotard worn on the apparatus, which still has to be sublimated by a specialty costumer. The second is the lifestyle showcase apparel, branded warm-up jackets, performer crews, troupe tanks, and matching team hoodies, which print-on-demand handles cheaper, faster, and with no minimums.
Walk into the green room before any aerial showcase and you will see two costume layers on every performer.
Layer 1: The on-apparatus costume. This is the unitard, leotard, bodysuit, or stretch bralette-and-bottom combo that goes on the silks, lyra, or hammock. It has to handle the load of inversions, sit flat against the body, and survive sublimation graphics or rhinestones without losing stretch. This piece comes from a specialty aerial and dance costume maker.
Layer 2: The off-apparatus apparel. Performers wear branded warm-up jackets, troupe tees, joggers, and hoodies before and after they go up. This is what the audience sees during emcee transitions, what performers wear in green room photos, and what they wear to load out at the end of the night.
Studios that run a full showcase plan both layers six to eight weeks out. Print-on-demand makes the second layer dramatically cheaper than it used to be.
Print-on-demand cannot make a sublimated competition unitard. It can make almost everything else a performing troupe needs.
POD handles well:
Browse our hoodie catalog for warm-up jackets and our sweatpants catalog for matching bottoms.
Bear Grips Pro Shops: Custom Apparel for Your Team. No Minimums. Free Shipping.A single aerial showcase usually has 60 to 120 performers, instructors, and crew on the production side, plus 200 to 500 family members and friends in the audience. That total audience is a captive group with strong emotional connection to the performance.
Most studios print 10 to 20 audience tees as a thank-you for the production team and never list them publicly. The studios that open a public shop and sell branded showcase merch typically earn $500 to $2,000 in extra revenue per performance.
| Item | Audience Sold | Profit per Item | Show Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Showcase commemorative tee | 40 | $12 | $480 |
| Performer crew tee (sold to fans) | 15 | $15 | $225 |
| Studio hoodie | 10 | $17 | $170 |
| Lifestyle sweatpant | 8 | $14 | $112 |
That is just under $1,000 in extra profit per show with no inventory risk. Studios that run four shows a year see this as found money on top of ticket sales.
The simplest playbook for a studio launching its first showcase apparel run:
For the on-apparatus unitards and leotards, work with a specialty aerial and dance costumer in your area. POD does not replace them. POD replaces every other apparel order you used to place at a screen printer.
Open a free Pro Shop, list a showcase tee and hoodie six weeks before the performance, and earn profit on every pre-order and post-show purchase.
Start FreeNo. Sublimated competition unitards and leotards still come from specialty dance and aerial costumers. POD covers everything else: warm-up jackets, troupe tees, joggers, and audience merch.
Showcase commemorative tees, performer crew tees, matching troupe hoodies, sweatpants, and family-and-friends merch. All of it prints when ordered with no inventory.
Studios with 200 to 500 audience members typically clear $500 to $2,000 in extra profit per show selling branded commemorative merch through a Pro Shop link shared in pre-show emails.
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