Athleisure – the new black (4D Chan Hiu Yu)

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Athlesiure refers to athletic apparel which can be worn in non-athletic settings. Even if you are not an enthusiast of fashion trends, surely you have noticed the full-fledged trend of athleisure. If you take a stroll down the street, you’re bound to discover many are wearing sporty clothes such as yoga pants, shorts, leggings, to name but a few. In fact, there is an increasing ubiquity for people to wear clothes designed for exercise to go around wandering the streets and even work. Why so? Why have people given up the business suits? What makes people change so much in their daily fashion style? Let’s wear our Sherlock Holmes’ hat and set on a quest to look into the causes. Read on!
One of the notable reasons is that athleisure is comfortable. T-shirts, exercise shorts, sweaters and so on are types of athleisure. These clothes are originally designed for people to work out. Hence, these are able to provide people with the same level of comfort even as pajamas. Most sportswear is made of cotton or nylon. These clothes are breathable, lightweight, flexible and durable. Candidly, who doesn’t want to have one especially when the weather is scorching hot? Not only is athleisure comfy, but it is also fashionable and trendy. For clothes which offer you comfort, they might not be chic, such as hoodies. Though some is soft and comfortable, it cannot hold your body shape well. It might make you chubbier. Yet, athleisure grants you both comfort and physically good look. This can expound why people from all walks of life would opt for this style.
Another patent reason is the celebrity effect. The celebrity endorsement marketing strategy can be described as a slam-duck. Athleisure brands such as Old Navy, Lululemon and Nike invite celebrities and influencers to promote their brands. Numerous celebrities and influencers introduce athleisure and motivate their millions of followers to adopt this laid-back appearance. On social media, these celebrities also disclose every aspect of their daily lives so as to keep in touch with their followers. They take pictures while they are wearing sportswear and posting them online. They wear these sporty clothes to grab a bite, hit the gym or even go to work. Naturally, their fans are willing to follow suit. There is no wonder that this trend is gaining popularity.
Last but not least, the rise of athleisure is also attributed to the popular concept of healthy lifestyle in our city. In this day and age, people set much store by overall well-being both mentally and physically. They try to eat healthier such as eating Feta Pasta which is the most popular food in 2022, going viral on social media. More people are shifting towards vegan. Needless to say, eating healthily without doing exercise is an exercise of futility. For most white-collar workers, after sitting in an air-conditioned office for over 8 hours, they tend to join yoga classes, work out or hit the gym. Athleisure is definitely a boon for them. They don’t even need to change their clothes after toiling in the office but directly go to the sports centre. This is so convenient! With this in mind, it is easy for us to justify why the trend of athlesisure is on the rise.
In brief, athleisure is the new black in the fashion industry with its high level of comfort, convenience, celebrity promotion and public awareness of living a healthy lifestyle. Most fashion trends come and go. Athleisure, however, is proving to be an exception. Chic, comfy type of clothes … it is hard to see athleisure go out of vogue.