Written by: Laura Arenas
It was early in 2014 when the most innovative talented fashion designers such as Riccardo Tisci (Nike by Ricardo Tisci ) and Alexander Wang had discovered a new way of wearing sports clothing. That’s when the trend athleisure became a successful and social phenomenon that has conquered and revolutionized the industry.
The word athleisure was born from the combination of athletism and leisure. Many luxury brands with no relation to sports, such as Chanel, Dior, and Giorgio Armani have joined this new lifestyle, an unconventional sport style, which has broken down the barriers that separates sportswear with street wear.
In the XXI century, the two sports that served as the base of this trend is: yoga and running, forming a style statement of wearing gym clothes in the streets. Athleisure has become an appropriate essence for the sport lifestyle by incorporating new technological fabrics for innovative and customizable designs, suitable for both sport and casual encounters.
Examples of this revolutionary movement are found in the summer/spring 2014 collection of haute couture, Chanel, where sneakers were presented for the first time as a luxury. The collection ready-to-wear fall/winter 2014, Karl Lagerfeld also got involved by adding the aesthetic of sports to his complete sport wear collection.
Meanwhile Raf Simons presented in 2014 the Dior Sneakers Fusion, with high – tech details inspired by the world of sport and adorned with feminine detailing and embodying the perfect fusion between urban spirit and savoir – faire of the Maison Dior. Giorgio Armani, also added sport designs in his collection with the Luxe Sneakers for men and the indomitable Alexander Wang revolutionized the fashion statement with his clubbing wear for the Swedish brand H & M.
The athleisure expansion is unstoppable, reaching the luxury e- commerce when big time Net-a-Porter launched in 2014 the Net- a- Sporter, with a wide range of cutting-edge brands such as Falke, Lucas High, Live Proceso, and even Nike.
The signs are obvious: leggings have replace jeans and have become the new necessity in everyone’s wardrobe. The leading sport athletes fill the front row of fashion shows and garments such as sweatshirts, varsity jackets, bombers, and jogging pants have become the epicenter version of the luxury collections. No doubt it has become a cool splurge where sport and luxury come together.
