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Luxury fashion brands are embracing athleisure

Aeance offers athleisure wear that can be used for sports or casual wear.
Aeance offers athleisure wear that can be used for sports or casual wear.
Athleisure

The athleisure trend is here to stay, and luxury brands are jumping on the bandwagon with creations that highlight technical innovation and active lifestyle

Showing up in yoga pants and sneakers anywhere outside of the gym was once frowned upon, yet today's street-style icons and professionals alike flaunt their healthy lifestyle on the go by donning limited-edition trainers matched with high-performance sportswear and smart-tech gear. It's apparent that the athleisure trend is here to stay.

The term athleisure - recently included in the 2016 Merriam-Webster's Dictionary - refers to casual clothing designed to be worn for exercising and general use.

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"It's definitely not just for the gym," says Kelly Wong, Lane Crawford's general merchandise manager. "We encompass the idea of the customer lounging in athleisure, doing sports in them or even extending its versatility to wear to work and go straight to the gym afterwards, hassle-free."

The athleisure category has shown promising growth over the past few years. According to a Morgan Stanley Research report last year, the US activewear market accounts for annual sales of US$97 billion. The report estimates that the industry could add more than 30 per cent growth in sales by 2020 in the US market, whereas Europe could expect 5 per cent average annual sales growth over the next five years.

Moncler's Grenoble luxury athleisure ski wear incorporates special technology.
Moncler's Grenoble luxury athleisure ski wear incorporates special technology.

"We think the market will be surprised to learn how broad-based the cultural factors driving athletic apparel and footwear sales are," says Jay Sole, Morgan Stanley's branded apparel and footwear analyst.

Many attribute the popularity of athleisure to the change in people's lifestyle - focusing on health and well-being. Sweating it off at a spinning class or an aerial yoga session on a Friday night is now the new norm.

"It's a shift that we are seeing within our daily lives," says Lisa Aiken, Net-a-Porter's fashion director. "Very often, we are not training alone. There's a social element in taking fitness classes together. It's another dressing occasion that we need to find a solution for our customers."

Vivian Chen
In the trade since 2009, Vivian Chen is a seasoned features journalist. As the Deputy Editor of STYLE Magazine, Vivian represents the publication at various fashion and luxury events including Paris Haute Couture Week and Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie. Vivian’s beat focuses on fashion, watches and jewellery. Her story “Independent Minds” won Excellence Award for Best Feature on Timepieces at Asian Publishing Awards 2014. Vivian also manages the magazine’s social media platforms and digital content. She was invited as a keynote speaker at Facebook Ecommerce Business Summit in Shenzhen, China.
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