“Athleisure” - Fashion for Digital Nomads

High-Fashion meets Sportswear

Hybrids and interdisciplinary collaborations by the big brands also show just how close fashion and sport have become. Co-operation with world stars has lent sportswear a contemporary make-over and created new power partnerships, such as that of Rihanna and Puma or top model Gigi Hadid and Reebok. Sportswear is therefore gaining new credibility, interest and glamour. Athleisure can be found, not only in gyms and on sports fields, but also in offices, restaurants and even on the red carpet. This new sportswear is experimenting with high-fashion materials such as cashmere, tweed and silk, and the high-fashion world in turn is playing around with functional textiles such as softshell, mesh or neoprene in sportswear. This creates an exciting win-win situation for all involved. The athleisure movement has now advanced so far that there is little difference between the sports department and a luxury boutique. So it’s not surprising that the luxury department store Bon Marché in Paris has set up the first athleisure area between expensive luxury brands. Webster’s Dictionary has also officially adopted the new term “athleisure”

Athleisure, the uniform of the 21st century

Industry giants such as Adidas, Puma and Nike have long since discovered that even non-sporty people want to look athletic and sexy, and have therefore entered into partnership with top designers. The fresh look of their sportswear extends the aesthetic spectrum of the sports industry far beyond fleece jackets and neon colours. One of the first companies was Adidas, which entered into a long-term partnership with Stella McCartney in 2005 and launched a sportswear collection. It was the first time a leading fashion designer had designed a functional sports line for women. Raf Simons, Rick Owens, Jeremy Scott, Yohj Yamamoto and Alexander Wang followed suit. Another sign of this emerging athleisure trend was seen in 2014, when online giant Net-a-Porter launched a sportswear offshoot called Net-a-Sporter. In addition, in Autumn 2014, H & M introduced a collection by the American designer Alexander Wang, who in turn included softshell in his collection, causing a sensation in the fashion world. For him, sportswear is a kind of uniform for the 21st century.

And now, luxury brands such as Kenzo, Hermès, Prada, Chanel, Gucci, Dior and Tom Ford have their own interpretation and standard collections of classic sneakers and sweatpants in their luxury boutiques. Seven years ago, this would have been unthinkable. At last, high-fashion is no longer only about a chic look, but also about the functional, comfortable feel-good factor.

The strongest growth segment

The “athleisure” megatrend of comfortable fashion sportswear has become a cross-sphere statement and one of the fastest-growing segments in the lifestyle and clothing industry. While total retail sales stagnated in America, sportswear sales increased 24% in 2018. According to NPD Group, the US market research firm, this segment has continued to grow in 2019. In 2017, Adidas recorded sales of EUR 3.8 billion in North America, the strongest sporting goods market, 35 percent up on the previous year. Last year, the pioneer of this trend, the Canadian yoga brand Lululemon, achieved record sales, and in the second quarter of this year it was able to almost double its profit, to EUR 623 million. The athleisure wave is unbroken and is continuing to anchor itself. According to Forbes, the US business magazine, the market for athleisure could reach 232 billion dollars globally by 2024. Further growth is emerging in Asia, where this trend is just starting. Given these figures, it may lead you to think that people are becoming sportier, but this is far from true. The NPD Group discovered that nearly half of sportswear purchased was worn as everyday wear for leisure time, at work or at school.