Combining comfort, fashion, and athleticism, “altheisure” is a new fashion trend that has consumers sprinting to stores. Many luxury clothing brands are now incorporating athletic wear into their collections, giving shoppers a wide variety of workout clothes to choose from.
Tory Burch, an upscale women’s clothing brand, recently launched its new athletic line that offers sportswear and accessories. The online store, Tory Sport, allows customers to shop by specific sport.
Ms. Burch created the line because of her own passion for sports. She spent two years developing the line, and now sells the clothing at the first Tory Sport store in Downtown Manhattan, according to vogue.com.
Lifestyle brand Lilly Pulitzer also launched an activewear line in 2015. Known for its bright and colorful patterns, the ‘Luxletic‘ line offers yoga pants, shirts, and jackets with Lilly Pulitzer’s signature prints. The Luxletic collection also includes several clothing options for children, according to lillypulitzer.com.
In addition, Hennes & Mauritz (H&M), a Swedish clothing company, recently designed a line of fashionable activewear. The line includes tops, jackets, bottoms and accessories. Similar to Tory Sport, the website has different sections dedicated to running, training, yoga, and outdoor activities.
Convent of the Sacred Heart junior and co-founder of the fashion Instagram account Don’t Change the Chanel Hanna Sheehan admires the fashionable look of activewear.
“I think sports clothes, such as Lululemon, are very popular among Sacred Heart girls, because it is nice to feel comfortable but also fashionable at the same time,” Hanna said.
Due to the popularity of Soul Cycle and Crossfit, the activewear market is a focal point for retailers, according to businessoffashion.com. Lululemon, a Canadian brand that has been creating fashionable activewear since its establishment in 1998, inspired brands like Tory Burch, Lilly Pulitzer, and H&M to create their own lines, according to businessoffashion.com.
Haley Horn, Sacred Heart junior and varsity soccer player, enjoys the functionality of athletic luxury wear.
“I think it’s really awesome that companies like Tory Burch and Lilly Pulitzer are creating athletic wear,” Haley said. “This allows athletes like me to be very comfortable in our clothes, and at the same time feel and look confident and fashionable.”
A study conducted by Trefis, a Boston-based research firm, found that sportswear revenue is expected to reach $178 billon by 2019, according to businessoffashion.com.
“I think that the rising popularity of active wear in the fashion world directly correlates to the desire to feel great in your clothes no matter what you are doing. It is nice to look presentable, even if it is just working out,” Hanna said.
– Nadia Zuaiter, Staff Writer
Vicky Allen • Nov 16, 2015 at 1:45 pm
As a Lululemon fan myself (I wear their French terry pants at home) I enjoyed this article. I read a couple of weeks ago in some newspaper or another that athletic clothing has surpassed the popularity of jeans. Don’t know whether or not this is true, but it is interesting.