The Athleisure Trend: What it is and why it is here to stay

The fashionable word creation combines the English terms Athletics and Leisure in sporty leisure looks. Cycling shorts with an oversized blouse or crop tops and sneakers with a summer skirt - for athletic outfits, activewear and everyday wear are combined or merge in new it-pieces like cool sweat suits and flared leggings. As the trend continues to grow, brands are pushing the term of athleisure beyond only clothing, creating products that combine an athletic style with utility – ranging from sunglasses to backpacks.

The first high-fashion brands already discovered the great potential of athleisure wear in 2017 and cooperated with sports brands for new capsule collections. Louis Vuitton, Karl Lagerfeld or Gucci succeeded in rejuvenating their image and increasing their sales with luxury streetwear by collaborating with Supreme, Vans or The North Face. At the same time, more and more sports brands also reacted to the increasing demand. Labels such as Reebok or Adidas brought in hip fashion designers such as Victoria Beckham or Stella McCartney in order to win over the young generation with their fashion statement pieces.

With his latest sports-inspired collections, even fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld has undone one of his most famous statements: sweatpants no longer indicate a loss of control, certainly not since the coronavirus pandemic turned our everyday lives upside down. With the move to working from home, requirements for work clothing have changed. Not only did the time-consuming commute disappear, but so did the dress code in the office. The fact that the pandemic has also awakened the sporting spirit in many to create a healthy balance inevitably benefitted the athleisure hype.

The hype is particularly evident on social media: Instead of wanderlust-inducing selfies from the Bali beach or the balcony of a fancy pop-up hotel in Cape Town, the focus has shifted to selfies at home during Covid. With recipes for vegan banana bread, digital yoga sessions and home workouts, millennials and GenZers have come up with creative ideas to survive the pandemic. This didn't affect the style factor, quite the opposite: in sweatpants, track pants and vintage hoodies, regular users and influencers alike fired up the trend for athleisure wear.

"Millennials and GenZers want fashionable activewear to stay active all day – for relaxing, working and all other activities," says trend expert Claire Conner of fashion label Bella+Canvas. Like many others, the brand launched its own athleisure line to meet the growing demand of the young target group for comfortable outfits. Ultra-soft materials, futuristic graphics and the silhouettes and colours of the 90s are particularly in vogue, explains Conner. They are based on pop culture trends in social networks that have emerged through the content of influencers and celebrities on TikTok and Instagram.

Gen-Z and young adults show a strong preference for shopping online, with their shopping habits being heavily influenced by peer groups and social media. Almost three-quarters of Gen Z prefer shopping on phones over other devices, and over forty percent prefer to discover new things on social media via short-form video – a place where the athleisure trend is omnipresent. And whilst the pandemic is gone, studies show that remote work is here to stay. The same goes for the fitness trend – as data shows a continuing high rate of wearable technology (e.g. smartwatches and fitness trackers) usage. Promising prospects for the fashion and sports industries, which can push each other like never before if they manage to reach the young target group on social networks.