Beginning from the early nineties to our current wardrobe, athleisure has essentially ridden on the magic carpet of fashion trends and with a few proclaiming its nearing end, we beg to disagree. When Neil Barrett collaborated with Puma on a fashionable sportswear line in 2003, the wall between functional / practical clothing and high-end fashion was completely broken down. This was also the same year that Yohji Yamamoto launched a new label Y-3 with Adidas that paved way for similar collaborations which continue to sell like hot cakes; to name a few, there is Rihanna’ s Fenty Puma, Alexander Wang’ s H & M or Beyoncé’ s Topshop. It is fair to ascertain that athleisure is not fading; it is merely on the threshold of an evolution that is emblematical of the loftier shift in global cultural trends. As health, fitness and personal well-being take centre stage in the modern shopper’ s lifestyle, the new tone of luxury can be easily summed up as:“ Feeling good is the new looking good”. The trend that is a mixing bowl of style, sport and urban streetwear will burgeon into a very opulent and extraordinarily functional orientation this year.
As the new generation’ s interests deviate towards the message of self-love, and body positive activism becomes more omnipresent than ever, it becomes clear that athleisure is no longer a fashion trend but an overall cultural shift to a more comfortable way of living. Heavily driven by the millennials and their busy-bee work ethic, the new era of athleisure is a strange hybridization of business formals’ meets performance-driven sportswear that transitions from office to
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evening seamlessly. An evident proof of this change is the return of suiting in a very relaxed and comfortable avatar this season for both women and menswear, which is indicative of the blurring boundaries between lounge dressing and office formals.
From track pants and sport jackets to denims getting a stretch-friendly upgrade, athletic wear’ s foray into luxury offers some largely unisex and culture-bending trends for Fall / Winter 2017-18!
1. SPORT-CORE
An early 1990s revival is ripening up and references to the normcore sporty casuals of the era are popping up everywhere. The costumes seen on American sitcom Seinfeld that ran throughout this decade are really the core of this trend. A sense of dressing down with a relaxed aesthetic will resurrect the period’ s centre-placed sportswear logos, old-school raw denims and of course the oversized pullover sweaters. The trend is going very strong on the global street style scene and retailers like FILA, Tommy Hilfiger and Esprit are all jumping up on the opportunity to relaunch their iconic collections.
2. PERFORMANCE FIRST
Comfort and utility are the key drivers of athleisure’ s global appeal and these factors are only going to go up if the trend wants to survive the tough retail atmosphere. Customers want clothes that fit seamlessly into their fast-paced lifestyle and enhance their overall experience. To achieve this transitional function in garments, performance fabrics with qualities like quick drying, odour resistance, moisture
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Fenty X Puma
Balenciaga
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Stella McCartney
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Jeremy Scott
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