Does athleisure spell a retail fashion apocalypse in America?
The rise of athleisure as the dominant way that people dress has broad implications for the fashion industry
The way the average American dresses has changed drastically in recent years.
Evolving dress codes, comfortable and technologically improved fabrics, and stylish but sporty designs have all combined to carve out a large section of the retail market.
Sales for activewear in the US reached US$45.9 billion in 2016, according to NPD Group data. That’s an 11 per cent uptick from the previous year, and far greater than the growth of the apparel sector as a whole.
As people are opting to move away from traditional styles and dress in this utilitarian style, fashion brands that have been slow to jump on the activewear bandwagon are suffering.
Athleisure is here to stay.
“Athleisure is the new casual,” Deirdre Clemente, a professor of history at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, recently told Business Insider.
“Athleisure” is commonly defined as a “weird hybrid” of business casual and athletic wear, which has created an entirely new category of clothing. It’s combining two trends that have dominated American casual clothing — durability and comfort — in a versatile way.
“I don’t think athleisure is going anywhere, honestly,” Clemente said. “It’ll only get bigger and more accessible to more people, and more acceptable in more environments.”
An overall easing of dress codes allows athleisure to be worn more often.
Theory is all well and good, and sales data tells a compelling story. But we wanted to see how these trends spell out for everyday people, so we took to the streets of New York City to ask average people why they’re wearing activewear in the middle of the weekday.