Activewear revolution: Aussie designers leading the world
AUSTRALIAN designers are at the forefront of the biggest trend in the fashion world. Dubbed “the new casual”, activewear — a multibillion-dollar industry — has carved itself a significant space in Aussie women’s wardrobes. And it is still gaining popularity.
Fashion
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WALK in to any cafe today and you’re bound to see as many, if not more, women sipping their coffee in Lycra leggings as those in denim jeans.
There’s not a gym bag or Nike sports bottle in sight, and it’s quite likely none of the aforementioned Lycra-wearers intends to hit the gym or even get their heart rate up after getting their caffeine fix.
Dubbed “the new casual”, athleisure has carved itself a significant space in Australian women’s wardrobes during the past five years, as the line between off-duty style and sportswear blurs.
And while in recent years parodies mocking the activewear-as-legitimate-casual-clothing trend have been rolled out online faster than a Lululemon yoga mat, the designers and retailers meeting the demand for this look are laughing (and jogging) all the way to the bank.
Defined as a hybrid of athletic and leisure apparel, the sporty fashion niche has morphed from a mere trend to a fully-fledged lifestyle. And to allay any doubt about its staying power, the term “athleisure” can now even be found in the dictionary.
Globally, the activewear market is booming. It is expected to be worth $US231.7 billion by 2024 according to a report by Global Industry Analysts Inc, and the Asia-Pacific is set to be the category’s fastest growing region.
And just as we made a name for ourselves as the global destination for the designer cossie, Australian designers have also proved their talents with Lycra extend well beyond the beach.
From the early adopters — such as First Base designer Alison Cotton and Jodhi Meares, who launched her brand The Upside when athleisure was still in its infancy — to the new stars, including P.E. Nation’s Pip Edwards and Claire Tregoning, and Julie Stevanja of Stylerunner, international fashion players in the US and Europe are following in our wake when it comes to setting the agenda for sports leisure style.
Its appeal is such that its most ardent followers will let nothing come between them and their comfortable, stretchy uniform, even when social dress codes suggest a more formal ensemble.
P.E. Nation co-founder Edwards is regularly snapped at red carpet events pairing a sporty tracksuit with killer designer heels or styling a cocktail dress with sneakers.
The stylist, designer and athleisure advocate has become Australia’s poster girl for the growing fashion category and has a little black book brimming with celebrity fans of the two-year-old brand she founded with Tregoning.
Gigi Hadid, Margot Robbie, The Kardashians and the star of its latest campaign, Jess Hart, have all added P.E. Nation to their already enviable wardrobes.
“I’ve been a fan of P.E. Nation for quite some time and I have also known Pip for quite a while too,” says Hart.
“My style is forever changing but the athleisure remains a staple in my wardrobe.”
Edwards launched the brand at a time when active, street and leisure wear were still, for the most part, separate offerings and few labels could boast a strong, directional fashion element.
“Brands before proclaimed to do it but if you aesthetically looked at the market back then, it didn’t speak to fashion — they just spoke to performance and women were wearing it during the day but looked like they were straight out of the gym,” said Edwards, whose resume includes design roles at Ksubi, Sass & Bide and General Pants Co.
“We knew there would be other women who needed the same solution, but the speed at which (P.E. Nation) took to market, you couldn’t fathom that and we still pinch ourselves every day.”
Edwards and Tregoning are continuing to lay the foundations of this function-fashion merger, and their latest collaboration with Woolmark is a perfect example.
“I think we’re all about educating our audience on performance fabrication and merino wool — it’s home grown and quite an interesting fabrication to use in sport,” she Edwards says.
“It’s been seen as a designer product but the qualities of the fabric are very performance based; it’s very temperature regulating and holds its form.”
Stylerunner chief executive Stevanja, who caught the athleisure wave at a time when active wear was only beginning to make its move from fitness studios to the street, says Australia had the edge on its global counterparts when it came to spearheading the evolution of athleisure wear — thanks to the nimble, experimental mindset of its fashion industry.
The 37-year-old’s online athleisure company is now worth more than $50 million and continues to dominate the local market. It’s also gaining traction worldwide and Stevanja recently launched three in-house fashion brands — New Guard, Flight Mode and Stylerunner — to add to the store’s offering of local and international fitness and leisure labels.
“In our opinion Aussie brands are really leading the pack. Brands in Australia take a lot more chances; they’re more directional and willing to try things first, whereas sometimes the international brands I find are a little safer,” she says.
“I think locally we also take cues from international runway trends really well as well, so they’re very cool and on-trend.”
Some sartorial critics continue to predict that the athleisure trend will soon creep back into the yoga studio, never to be seen at a cafe or shopping centre again, but entrepreneur’s is confident we’ll see continue to see more and more crop top-clad latte sippers and window shoppers in the coming years.
“All of the research continues to say the market is going to continue to grow,” Stevanja says.
“It goes hand-in-hand with the wellness movement, and I think we’re not going to go backwards on our commitment to being healthier. There’s not going to be an increase in smoking; people are moving away from unhealthy things and becoming more educated about healthy lifestyles.
“And when you’re committed to a healthier life you want to wear more sportswear, more sneakers and incorporate these styles into your life.”