Athleisure wear will fully evolve in 2016.
FUNKE OSAE-BROWN
Athleisure wear is emerging as a long term trend, boosted by consumer obsession with healthier lifestyles and functional wardrobes.
This was brought to fore at the just concluded fashion show put together by P&G global brand Ariel to explore athleisure with leading fashion designer, Giles Deacon.
Ariel alongside renowned designer and P&G Fabric Care Global Fashion Consultant, Deacon, looked at the athleisure trend and the fabrics associated with it, in a limited edition washable capsule collection, revealed exclusively at the P&G Future Fabrics event in Barcelona, 2nd December 2015.
A recent global survey commissioned by P&G Fabric Care*, on behalf of Ariel, Lenor and Downy, explored the popularity of the athleisure trend, reveals that nearly three out of four consumers (71 percent) consider active-inspired clothes as part of their “normal” everyday clothes.
Over one in four (27 percent) say leggings are their most favoured article of clothing for day to day wear. Many wear active-inspired attire to run errands (56 percent), to travel (47 percent), to go shopping (41 percent) and even when going out to dinner (16 percent).
This new trend brings a challenge when it comes to clothing care. Today, 60 percent of loads contain laundry garments other than cotton. Athleisure garments include knitted fabrics, polyester, Lycra™, new wools, and many other fabrics, meaning that laundry loads are now more varied than ever. People are currently faced with 900+ wash combinations, factoring in the diversity of fibres, fabric construction, load size, soil and staining and water quality.
Understanding the relationship between the wearer and their clothes is key to the redefining clothing care.
Understanding the relationship between the wearer and their clothes is key to the redefining clothing care. P&G Fabric Care brand Ariel has embarked on a series of studies with leading Cognitive Psychologist, Dr Lawrence Rosenblum of the University of California Riverside, to delve deeper into the phenomenon of “Enclothed Cognition”. This term describes the subconscious effects of our clothes on the way we perceive ourselves, the way we think, our moods and behaviour.
At the event, for attendees, athleisure wear will fully evolve in 2016 as consumers will begin to consider gym-to-office style when it comes to clothing. This is further reinforced by the fact that modern office space now incorporate gym into designs to encourage healthy lifestyle among staff.
“Athleisure wear is dominating the casual wear market, with high profile sports/fashion brand collaborations setting the agenda for covetable, design driven clothing,” says Andres Franco, associate director communications, Europe Fabric Care Procter & Gamble International Operations.
Franco adds that athleisure trend is being driven by R n B celebrities from US rapper Kanye West’s collaboration with Adidas, to Beyoncé’s partnership with Topshop and Rihanna’s appointment at Puma, RnB music stars are lending credibility and marketing hype to athleisure wear lines. “This is a key for attracting the millennial consumer,” he says.
The athleisure is a fast growing market. It’s predicted to be the fastest growing fashion category for the second half of this decade, with an estimated four percent growth yearonyear reaching $178bn by 2019, according to US research firm Trefis.
Furthermore, internet based style tribe, Health Goth, is propelling the trend forward on social media, attributing an underground, cult like status to sportswear brands and products, and in turn ensuring athleisure wear remains a streetwear based fashion direction.
The athleisure is a fast growing market.
Fashion analysts say the athleisure phenomenon looks set to continue into 2016 and beyond, and it is now on course to become one of the fastest growing global apparel product categories in the second half of this decade.
Note the number of companies committing to athleisure collections or brand extensions – from high end etailer, NetA-Porter’s new NetASporter section, to Beyoncé’s streetwear line with British chain Topshop, to Adidas’s Stella Sport collaboration with fashion designer Stella McCartney (see the gif below). The influence is two way between high fashion and sportswear. This is reflected on the catwalks, with couture and readytowear collections blending sophisticated tailoring with sportswear detailing.
Eric Wilson, influential fashion news director of InStyle magazine (US edition), shares Procter & Gamble’s conviction that the trend will be long lasting. “Athleisure represents a bigger, and likely permanent, sea change in fashion,” he says. “People are embracing healthier lifestyles, while also demanding more functionality from their wardrobes. The need for everyday comfort, too, plays a role – especially for anyone trying to work fitness into an overtaxed schedule.
Amr El-Kashashi, P&G Associate Brand Director for IMEA Region, which includes Nigeria says the strategic importance of the dynamic Nigerian market. “We are wearing clothes more often, we are also washing them more often. As a result Ariel is constantly looking for new ways to redefine the science that addresses comfort, style and performance. And protect the new look and feel of clothes for our trendy Nigerian consumers,” he explains.
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