The Cambridge Dictionary defines the word athleisure: “A style of clothing comfortable and suitable for sports, but also fashionable and interesting enough to wear for other activities.”
Athleisure industry were laid in the 1970s, when sports training videos became popular for the first time. The term was first created in 1979, used to describe clothing that made it look like sporty but not necessarily only suitable for exercise. Today, both the term and the industry have evolved and the term athleisure today means casual clothing that is equally portable at the bar, in a store or restaurant as well as in the gym or for yoga or jogging. It is not necessarily a pro-level sports performance attire, but it must be suitable for sports activities.
Sales data show that this multifunctional style is really loved and that it is somehow part of the 21st century mentality. This trend is definitely set to grow also thanks to lockdown and life-post-covid. In recent years, sales of athleisure clothing have begun to compete not only with sales of stylish fashionable garments and accessories, but also with high-performance sportswear. Clothing experts expect the athleisure industry to continue to be a growing trend during the early 2020s.
Athleisure and technical innovation
One of the most significant factors in the rise of athleisure clothing is the development of technical fabrics. The advent of the elastic and enveloping Lycra in 1958 and the waterproof and breathable Gore-Tex in 1969 revolutionized the production of sportswear. Not wanting to lose the possibilities offered by these innovative fabrics, designers began to use them also for their collections. Think about neoprene, which from technical fabric for diving/surf suits, in the 2000/2010s was used by many brands to create garments, jackets, skirts, etc…
It was only a matter of time before fashion and functionality merged to create the athleisure industry we know today.
A revolution with little maintenance
Athleisure clothing not only saves us time in terms of changing outfits from one business to another, but is also easier to care for than many alternatives on the market. Forget the meticulous starch and ironing required by cotton shirts or expensive dry cleaning for formal clothes, athleisure clothing usually washes easily in a home washing machine and comes out without crease, so there’s no need to look for time to iron in our already hectic life. A very important feature in the kids universe, right?!
Requirements dictated by new lifestyles
If there is one way to characterize life between the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century it is our ability to be multitasking.
Our desire to have and do more than previous generations means that we often run from one appointment to another, so our wardrobes had to adapt to facilitate this. This is also true in the world of children: what they wear in school or kindergarten often must also be suitable for afternoon activities (from music courses to English or theater), for walks, for sports activities, since such hectic plans no longer allow more changes of clothing. Athleisure clothing allows our children to move from one activity to another in total comfort.
In addition, the lockdown has taught us that it is also worth investing in beautiful and comfortable clothes for the home: no to pajamas, yes to comfort!
Monnalisa clothing also embraces athleisure
In the Portuguese boutique Specialclothing we found a great athleisure selection of the Made in Italy clothing brand Monnalisa: we combined the red tee with rhinestone logo with cyclists shorts leggings with the print of cherries on a black background, a kids outfit perfect not only for cycling, but also to play in the park, to do physical education at school, to skate or just to walk the sea with mom and dad…
What if it comes in the evening and it’s cold? Just add the denim jacket, with the cutest Minnie!
