The Evolution of Athleisure
From fitness fad to mainstream fashion
Just a couple of decades ago, most of us would have balked at the idea of wearing a pair of stilettos with jogger pants, or donning a stylish trench over a tracksuit. But, here we are, in the midst of the twentieth century, when fashion needs to tick multiple boxes at once to make the cut.
Function vs form: but why choose?
‘Athleisure’ or the intersection of fitness and activewear with streetwear and more formal garb, has existed in many forms since the early 1980s – although the term itself wasn’t coined until the noughties.
The late 19th and 20th centuries saw sportswear find its way into street culture and eventually, onto the racks and rails of popular clothing stores. In the years prior, items that were meant to support the movement and demands of sports like tennis, soccer, and hockey belonged solely to the realm of courts and fields.
Functionality and form were part of two distinctly different worlds. But, with sports and fitness becoming more accessible to the everyday person on the street, the lines between activewear and casual wear drew closer to one another; prompting people to bring the looks and lines they saw when they watched sports, into their own closets.
Women started riding bicycles, the proliferation of fitness studios for disciplines like pilates began, high-brow fitness clubs became playgrounds for society’s elite and the concept of the modern-day public gym was invented.
What followed was the emergence of some of fashion’s most classic silhouettes – the itsy-bitsy tennis skirt, tennis-style cardigans and rubber-soled sports shoes became the pioneering pieces of fashion that changed the game for everyone, everywhere.
Gradually, the world’s leading fashion houses released their versions of sportswear that could be “worn out” and style influencers like sneakerheads emerged as powerful fashion sub-cultures and shapers of a new, fresh trend.
It started with the ‘yoga pants’
Fast forward to the first decade of the 2000s and the rapid acceleration of the rate of societal change that drove many passing fads into the mainstream, adopting athleisure as the “next big thing.”
During these years, yoga became one of the world’s most ubiquitous forms of exercise. Seeing people walking to yoga class, mat in hand and ready for action in tight-fitting activewear, became a common sight.
It wasn’t long before people began to wear their ‘yoga pants’ out to coffee or a cocktail or while running errands. Activewear provided a new level of much-needed comfort that would help people meet the demands of contemporary living.
Fashion that’s everything to everyone
This phenomenon can be attributed; at least in part, to the convergence of different aspects of lifestyle. With the pace of life speeding up, people needed to learn how to multi-task. And with urban centres becoming more crowded, commuting to work and then to gym or a fitness class before heading home became one, continuous stream of activity. Fashion needed to transition effortlessly between these different parts of the day.
Consumers needed a solution to what to wear when you’re exercising, working, playing and ticking off your daily to-do list. And although being able to do all these things required maximum comfort, consumers didn’t want to skimp on style. The solution? Clothing that could be worn in multiple settings and serve multiple purposes, simultaneously.
The healthy lifestyle movement
The early 2000s also saw a dramatic upsurge in the personal fitness trend. With the advent of social media, fitness gurus and trainers were able to reach wider audiences; spanning different geographical territories and bringing fitness routines into homes all around the world.
We moved quickly from needing to buy fitness series DVDs, to being able to stream videos and guides wherever we were and at any time. It was a fitness revolution, and with growing awareness around the importance of eating healthy, exercising and taking a more holistic approach to self-care, athleisure was poised for the big stage.
A global call for more sustainable industries
This fitness revolution occurred in tandem with the increasing global call for sustainability. Inspired by a growing body of evidence that demonstrated the very real impact of climate change and social injustices, consumers of fashion began to realise that their choice of fashion was directly related to the health and well-being of people and the planet.
In short, we soon learned that it is more sustainable to work with what we have, rather than buying into a ‘throwaway culture’ that involves low-quality clothing ending up in landfills or polluting the ocean. Athleisure was; and still is, a fashion choice that is more sustainable.
By adapting a piece of fashion in subtle ways, you can wear the same items for many different occasions. The focus now is moving away from having voluminous closets filled with many different occasion-specific outfits, towards a capsule wardrobe filled with timeless fashion staples that can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion.
Driven by technological innovation
We also have technology to thank for the fact that athleisure has earned itself a prized position as one of fashion’s most ubiquitous aesthetics.
Driven by the call for reform in the fashion industry and a move from linear to circle economies, manufacturers began to invest in technology to produce more sustainable fashion at a larger scale.
Today, we have access to pioneering textiles that didn’t exist just a few years ago. ECONYL® is one prime example of this. As a multipurpose textile, ECONYL® is made out of recycled and regenerated nylon, collected from waste that is found on land and in the ocean.
We use ECONYL® for several of our designs and can attest to the fact that it is durable, but also flexible and uber-comfortable. Its robust design makes it resistant to oil and sunscreens with UV protection, so clothing made out of ECONYL® can exist just as beautifully as it does on the ground as it does in the water.
Dress it up, dress it down
In its formative years, many people believed athleisure to be a trend, taken up mostly by “fitness freaks” or “gym junkies.” But, driven by societal change and important shifts in public discourse, athleisure went mainstream. And over a very short space of time, more people; from different walks of life, in different cities and towns all over the world, started wearing activewear out to parties, events, get-togethers, the office, colleges and at home.
Take our Eli Kuro Leotard for example. Its sumptuous texture and elegant design features cut-out panels that are perfect for a dance workshop or performance, or even a day at the pool. But, put on a pair of heels with a high-waisted pair of trousers and you'll be prepped for a work meeting or cocktails with the girls.
We can also picture people doing a few pirouettes in our voluminous, multi-layered Stephanie Skirt. But it could just as easily complete your look with a pair of wedges for a garden party or accompany you on a shopping spree. This is fashion that’s designed to make a style statement, serve a specific purpose and bring a sense of comfort and convenience to your everyday look.
In this era of unprecedented change, characterised by the rise of the conscious consumer movement, we find ourselves at a captivating point in history where as consumers, we’re learning more about how our choices today will affect our lives tomorrow. And, if that means getting creative about what we wear and innovative about how we design and produce fashion, we’re all in.
