Athleisure wear Don’t sweat the trend
Sizzling demand for comfort-meets-sporty fashion isn’t expected to cool anytime soon
On a coffee run? Heading to a work meeting? Going for drinks? Athleisure wear — the trend of wearing gym clothes as everyday clothes — has made it socially acceptable for men and women of all ages and shapes to don workout leggings all day long, whether they’re working up a sweat or not breaking one at all.
Since the mid-2010s, the activewear category has emerged as a shining light in a darkening retail landscape. Of course there’s Lululemon, Nike and Adidas. Then daywear brands J. Crew, Gap and H &M entered the space in hopes of boosting sales.
A market for branded high-end niche sportswear materialized, and Jennifer Bandier’s onestop concept shops for luxury athleisure took the lead.
It started back in 2014, when Bandier, a New York-based music executive who managed the popular R &B group TLC, was recovering from a broken leg. When her cast was removed, all she could do for exercise was walk. Bandier wanted to look stylish, but couldn’t find what she wanted to wear, so she began scouring the web for cool brands.
It was then that her idea for Bandier, a multibrand activewear shop solidified.
“I didn’t see anyone else doing it,” Bandier says during a visit to Toronto to launch a pop-up at Holt Renfrew, which runs until Jan. 28. So she decided to test the market.
“When I announced it to my family and friends, almost everyone said ‘That’s the worst idea, don’t do it.’ ” They were wrong. Today, the proof lies in Bandier’s five bricksand-mortar locations and two rotating popups, including one at Holt Renfrew’s flagship store on Bloor St. in Toronto, which opened in October and marks the company’s debut in the Canadian market.
Bandier credits strategic buys as the driving force behind her company’s success. Each store is packed with limited edition pieces by brands such as Nike and Adidas interspersed with collections from fashion-forward specialty brands including APL sneakers, Michi and Ultracor. Celebrity fans of Bandier’s concept include Kim Kardashian, Olivia Culpo and Liv Tyler.
The formula has been successful from the day Bandier opened her first store in Southampton, N.Y., in 2014, where she says she sold 10,000 pieces during the summer season alone. She has 1,000 people on waitlists for items such as Ultracor leggings emblazoned with lightning bolt prints, which retail for more than $250.
Don’t be fooled by the flashy prints that made the brand famous though, says Bandier; the hefty price tag is as indicative of performance as it is high fashion.
At this price point, you can expect luxe Italian, eight-way stretch fabric that offers both compression and breathability that lifts the butt, engages the core and flattens the tummy. The waistband ultra seam technology is patented and gives the highest degree of movement, while mesh inserts are made using the latest laser technology.
Given the category’s success within the market, it’s not surprising that some of the biggest names in fashion are getting in on the action. For fall 2017, the team behind Giambattista Valli styled 46 looks that included Nike leggings on the runway. It’s something that’s resonated on a consumer level.
“One of our customers in Washington went to an Inaugural Ball in one of our crop running tops, and she wore it with a beautiful full silk Armani skirt,” says Toronto-based designer Michelle Lee of Michi, a key brand sold at Bandier.
“You never would have expected that to be technical fabric,” Lee says of the top, which appears more fashion than function. Another favourite? Michi’s white mesh shorts Kylie Jenner styled with an oversized hoodie by the Parisian streetwear brand Vetements.
Pushing the athleisure trend forward is the cultural shift toward living healthier lifestyles. It encompasses health, food, exercise and apparel.
“It’s not a new trend, but what has changed is that it has become more stylish,” says Margaret MacNeill, as- sociate professor, faculty of kinesiology & P.E. at the University of Toronto. She dates the start of athleisure back to the 1970s, when velour track suits hit it big with the senior population.
“If you fast-forward to our era, it means you don’t have to be an athlete on the Olympic team, but that you can be an athlete in the fitness world.”
MacNeill cites a report by Euromonitor UK, a market research and data firm, as evidence of the catego- ry’s success fuelled by more active lifestyles. “Euromonitor now believes that health is the new wealth.”
Instead of driving really expensive sports cars to signify wealth, people are putting resources into their bodies to denote the same financial suc- cess. “If health becomes a status symbol, in my field of critical cultural studies, that’s a form of cultural and social capital,” MacNeill says.
This comfort meets sporty fashion has become a movement that isn’t expected to slow down any time soon.
“It’s definitely going to continue,” says MacNeill, who anticipates wearable technology will be the subsection to pick up next.
She isn’t the only one predicting the category’s continued growth. According to global financial services firm Morgan Stanley, global activewear sales are predicted to reach $83 billion (U.S.) by 2020, surpassing the fashion apparel market entirely.
That’s a heck of a lot of lightning bolt leggings.