From Vera Wang to Stella McCartney and Kanye West to Selena Gomez, designers and celebs across the world are trending in the activewear mania.
Staid formals and ostentatious ethnic wear are making way for athleisure, a clothing style that marries the best of fashion and fitness at almost all kinds of events and occasions.
“Athleisure is a fundamental shift in the way fashion forward individuals dress up nowadays. From streets to airports, runways to our wardrobes, the trend is everywhere. While celebs have popularised athleisure, corporate professionals now team up a pair of sneakers with their business suits,” says Sean Van Wyk, senior marketing director, Adidas India.
Globally, the market for athleisure was over $351 billion in 2017 and is estimated to reach over $546 billion by 2024. Although North America accounts for 42.3% of the total revenues, markets like India are fast catching up.
Athleisure as a segment keeps evolving, with multiple trends seen at any given point in time.
Joggers, statement tees, cropped sweatshirts, camo and animal prints are the latest trends in athleisure, says Srinivas Rao, senior vice president, marketing Lifestyle. Another big trend in athleisure this season is about going retro through bulky dad shoes, baggy bottoms and oversized tees, say experts.
“There’s also the logo-mania with big logos splashed across T-shirts, sweatshirts, tights and track pants,” Puspen Kumar Maity, vice president and head – sports, footwear and accessories, Myntra.
Moreover, this season has also witnessed lots of mesh panelled tights, cropped sweatshirts and colour blocking. Debosmita Majumder, marketing head, Puma India, says holographic jackets and pants is something very recent and unique that is catching on in the athleisure segment. “Selena Gomez has been spotted in our tracksuits, jackets and tights, all of which reflect trends like panelling and colour blocking. Athleisure has evolved a lot in recent times to become a style statement, a fashionable look that is not just restricted to the gym or the streets. One8 is a perfect example of how we have co-created with an athlete like Virat Kohli.”
Like Virat Kohli, Indian celebs like Yuvraj Singh, Tiger Shroff, Shahid Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez have all collaborated with various partners to bring out their own athleisure brands. And this is believed to have further triggered the athleisure fad amongst Indian millennials. In India, athleisure is estimated to be an $8 billion market by 2020, growing at 12-14% per annum.
"From mixing and matching formal pants with statement tees to pairing joggers with a jacket, whether to the airport, brunch or a party, athleisure is now seen everywhere,’’ says Rao.
According to Mudit Jain, product head, ASICS India, millennials feel comfortable in athleisure and this change has happened over the years, with people becoming more conscious about wearing what they feel comfortable in, rather than sticking to societal norms.
Amongst the broad framework of athleisure, sneakers as a category is undergoing a revolution. Post the white sneaker trend that gained a lot of traction, chunky 90s inspired sneakers with leather and mesh iteration upper, textile upper iterations instead of a complete primeknit upper and bold, innovative silhouettes are all the hype now, says Wyk. "Running shoes have become popular footwear alternatives to the conventional smart casual types.”
Meanwhile, Myntra has launched the Myntra Sneaker Club in partnership with Nike, Puma, Adidas, Onitsuka Tiger. Maity says the club hosts pub crawls with celebs sporting the best of sneakers from recent collections and “this has been gaining a lot of appreciation.”
ATHLETIC LUXE
$546bn
the athleisure market is estimated to reach by 2024
$8bn
Indian market is estimated to touch by 2020
12-14%
the space is growing per annum in India
STREET SMART
- Staid formals and ostentatious ethnic wear are making way for athleisure
- Amongst the broad framework of athleisure, sneakers as a category is undergoing a revolution
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