Athleisure, A Trend To Stay?

Comfort Meets Style With Athleisure Clothing

Athleisure is a multipurpose sleek minimalist designer wear, made for all ages. These clothes are very comfortable when it comes to day-to-day wear. By combining fashion with functionality and minimalist designs, athleisure has been trending for all the right reasons. Athleisure wear supports transitional clothing with leggings to yoga pants, which can be worn for almost all occasions.

Now, high-end brands are using athleisure to attract consumers and advertise it as a multipurpose clothing line for all ages and all times.  

This niche clothing segment has become popular due to the health and fitness spree followed by teenagers and adults nowadays. Activewear clothing designed for sports use, such as running, yoga, exercises and outdoor activities, is versatile.  

Athleisure is made from the two words – athletic and leisurewear. It is multipurpose and useful at all times of the day. This popularity of athleisure has not always been welcomed, as it is an odd-looking outfit when you plan a family dinner. However, with many designs, colors and various fashion wear under this category, have led to the acceptance of athleisure wear. 

Today as a fashion trend, athleisure is a popular choice that complements most of our busy lifestyles where we yearn to be fashionable, trendy and stylish.

Athleisure: Is It a High-end Streetwear Fashion?

The global market for athleisure fashionables has grown tremendously and is still on the rise. Some of the most popular brands manufacturing athleisure are Alo Yoga, Zara, Nike, Puma, Beyond Yoga, H&M, and Lululemon. 

By all means, athleisure has become one of the most popular trends of fashion clothing this year. Owing most of the time we have spent at home during the pandemic, we need some comfort wear. But at the same time, it should be smart and wearable for all times. 

Brands such as Gymshark have boomed their sales by almost 150%, while Alo Yoga has also been one of the fastest-growing brands.

Athleisure and Its Popularity

People started wearing sportswear outside their workout zones as sportswear became more comfortable. The innovations of athleisure have made it quite popular. Every manufacturing brand is working towards improving the materials and the technology of athleisure to make it befitting for extensive and long-time use. The goal of athleisure is to be an amalgamation of comfort and utility.

The materials used in the making of athleisure are also innovating every day. Recycled bamboo, spandex, polyester and wool are some of the most popular fabrics used to make athleisure wear. The fabrics used in the manufacturing of this leisure clothing is also responsible for its popularity, which makes it an outfit for the whole year.  

Why wouldn’t a multifunctional and comfortable outfit become a trend? The qualities that make it an absolute favourite among all age groups is that it is easy to wear, is wrinkle-free, and has anti-odour properties. That means even if you have multiple errands to run, or are facing extreme weather conditions, athleisure will keep you active yet comfortable at the same time. 

Benefits of Using Athleisure

1. Activewear enhances performance: Be it running, swimming or lifting, the right activewear helps to improve technique and performance. Compression of body parts enhances performance. It increases blood flow to and from your limbs. This helps in keeping muscles oxygenated and work better.
   
2. Compression aids recovery: The right compression for the body can aid in decreased fatigue and healing. When lactic acid builds up in the muscles, it leads to soreness, but the right compression helps in forcing the lactic acid out of the muscles and aids recovery.
   
3. Aids in flexibility: Any loose clothing or non-flexible clothing does not allow maximal flexibility while stretching. If you are looking for enhancing flexibility during your workouts, then athleisure wear will be beneficial.
    
4. Boosts confidence: Athleisure wear is a body fitted attire. It helps to shape the contours of the body, thus improving body posture and building confidence. Athleisure suits all body types, whether it is petite or bulky. It lifts the body muscles to shape your body type.
    
5. For all ages: Some clothing, such as denim, is suitable for a certain age group. However, athleisure is available for all age groups. It is a much-diversified clothing line where one can choose what suits them best.
     
6. Exercise wear: As athleisure is so breathable and airy, the amount of sweat it absorbs is almost negligible. The exercise wear dries out while you work out; this makes it easy to use and lightweight during workout sessions. In addition, the lowers do not get wet or sweaty even when one is exercising in high-sweat conditions.  

Outfits that Represent Athleisure 

The new hybrid sports trend of versatility and athleisure go hand-in-hand. We have a list of clothes that fit into your concept of athleisure:

• Sweatpants
• Leggings
• Hoodies
• Sweatshirts
• Active gym wear
• Cycling shorts 
• Spandex shorts
• Track pants
• High Rise Leggings/ treggings
• Caps and other accessories

Impact of Athleisure

Social: The active lifestyle fad has impacted the social status of so many people. Even if one does not exercise, they still want to be trendy and up to date with the upcoming styles. Fitness clothing has always been conferred to be highly sophisticated and ultra-modern. The global shift toward fitness and health has led to an increasing interest in athleisure wear. Many socialites have joined fitness clubs, which has resulted in a rise in the sales of athleisure wear.   

Materials and technology: The material used for making athleisure clothes requires to be stretchable, flexible, sweatproof, and odour-proof. The fabric should conform to the body fittings, yet be breathable to allow air in and out. It should be able to pull off dirt and dust. Athleisure wear is a technical piece of clothing requiring immense detailing and technicality. Brands are coming up with innovative technology to overcome these barriers and provide the best athleisure material to withstand roughness. 

Environment: The chemicals and dyes used to manufacture athleisure wear are harsh and use solvents, such as polyfluorinated chemicals. Petroleum and other raw materials used for making it grease resistant are non-biodegradable. The fabric is harmful to the environment and the ecosystem.

Conclusion 

Athleisure wear is a trend to stay for a while. It is next-gen wear, and with so many variations of clothing on the line, it seems like a never-ending spree of fashion attires. Luckily, we are living in an era where innovations are taking place every minute. Athleisure is now not only being used as outer activewear, but innerwear made of the athleisure active fabric has also been introduced. Athleisure wear has a larger scope for variety and interests a larger mass of people. As a result, there are now so many options to choose from while choosing active lifestyle clothing.