At the intersection of comfortable style and sports apparel, athleisure pieces easily translate for those that live actively, or at least want to appear as such. Within the past decade, the hybrid clothing category built upon ease of wear and technical materials has changed people’s approach to getting dressed. The name itself is a combination of “athletic” and “leisure,” two words with often contradictory meanings. In clothing, however, comfort is at the core of both activewear and loungewear. As the structure of fashion’s formality eroded, they soon began occupying the same spaces and the push towards relaxed silhouettes transformed the modern wardrobe, catalyzing a new generation of multipurpose pieces that look just as good at the gym as they do anywhere else. While athleisure was originally differentiated from activewear, the category evolved with textile technology and now the lines between fitness-wear and athleisure have become blurred.
Although the rise of athleisure is relatively new, the desire for combining the two concepts of sports and leisure has been around since the late 19th century. In the 1870s, sportswear was emerging as people sought out more practical ways of dressing for hobbies like playing tennis, golfing, and bicycle riding. At this time, sportswear was defined by separates that allowed the wearer greater freedom of movement. It wasn’t until the 1920s that the more relaxed silhouettes of sportswear became a fashion staple, as designers like Coco Chanel and Jean Patou made the look mainstream. Chanel was particularly influenced by sport, infusing elements of hunting and horseback riding into her signature styles.
In American fashion, however, it was Claire McCardell’s designs that pioneered the convenience and comfort of sportswear. In the 1930s, she sought to turn away from European influences, instead crafting her fashion from utilitarian textiles like cotton, wool, denim, and calico, and joining them with practical details. When she introduced matching separates, they were a hit. McCardell’s designs focused on practicality and functionality, supplying customers with building blocks for a wearable and versatile wardrobe–in the ‘40s she created a capsule of five garments that could be mixed and matched into nine outfits. The simplicity of her sportswear served the increasingly active lifestyle of women at the time.
Meanwhile, men were fighting to bring athletic styles into their wardrobes. In 1930, students at the all-male Dartmouth College organized a protest for their right to wear shorts so that they could “lounge forth to the supreme pleasure of complete leg freedom.” It was common for adolescent boys to wear shorter pant styles, but men would usually only wear them for sports or outdoor activities. With this push for comfort, shorts and polo shirts were soon common recreational clothes for socializing or casual events.
As sportier styles became more mainstream, the structure of where and when it was appropriate to wear such clothes began loosening. Once people got a taste of the comfort of non-restrictive sportswear, people wanted to incorporate it into their everyday wardrobes. From men being able to wear shorts by the ‘40s to the normalization of women wearing pants in the ‘50s, there was a mass trend towards casual, active styles. While it was once expected for people to dress up up for any public outing, dress codes began relaxing in the mid-20th century. For Americans, this also coincided with the rise of the middle class. Casual clothing was accessible and it didn’t overtly indicate wealth or social standing, allowing people to dress more freely rather than trying to appear like they belonged to a higher class.
Fitness’ big boom came in the ‘70s and ‘80s. At-home workouts were rapidly growing in popularity thanks to Jane Fonda’s famous workout tapes and those of other celebrities. Commercialized gyms and fitness centers were also on the rise, along with spas and workplace wellness programs, giving birth to a holistic healthy lifestyle. This caused a demand for more advanced activewear–clothes that were designed specifically for sweating and mobility. Performance textiles like Lycra, Spandex, and other synthetics were soon bending and snapping with the workout craze.
The greater visibility of fitness during this period also brought about a need for more attractive activewear, and as brands like Nike and Adidas stepped up, gym clothes weren’t only worn for workouts. However, there was still a differentiation between true athleticwear and clothes that were designed to appear as athletic. Athleisure was originally used to describe the latter, with the term first appearing in 1979. It continued cropping up in various fashion publications throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s as celebrities like Princess Diana stepped out in sporty chic ensembles and designers like Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger infused the look with the streetwear aesthetic.
The focus on casual yet cool clothes continued into the next millennium. In the early aughts, Juicy Couture tracksuits became all the rage, merging bedazzled, candy-colored aesthetics with the activewear silhouette. As fashion progressed, the desire for comfortable luxury stayed, and contemporary streetwear brands saturated the market. In the 2010s, hypebeast culture took hold, with Supreme at its forefront, making sweat pants, hoodies, and other streetwear basics into a status symbol. The casual clothes that were once an equalizer transformed into a new sector of the luxury market as high fashion labels began issuing their own takes on streetwear and the adjacent athleisure category. High fashion labels like Chanel, Fendi, and Prada have all adopted the trend, from designer leggings to branded sports bras. Meanwhile, Kanye West’s Yeezy hit the market in the mid-2010s with a focus on athleisure, from fast-selling sneakers to neutral-toned spandex sets.
The evolution of athleisure also changed the literal fabric of its identity. As fashion advanced, athleisure stopped mimicking the fitness-friendly clothes and began being produced from performance-grade materials. Now, you can go on a date in the same yoga pants you wore to a vinyasa class. This focus on wearability has influenced both sides of athleisure. Fitness brands want to appear more fashion-forward, while fast fashion and ready-to-wear labels offer more sport-influenced clothing.
The element of celebrity has been pivotal to the rise of everyday athleticwear. Not only have celebrities been trendsetters, showing how to style sporty looks, but many of them have also put their name behind the fashion. From Kate Hudson’s Fabletics to Beyoncé’s Ivy Park, activewear and athleisure became an entrepreneurial opportunity for many stars. Celebrity collaborations also boosted sportswear sales, such as Rihanna’s Fenty X Puma and Tommy Hilfiger’s collaborative TommyNow collections, which began with Gigi Hadid and have also teamed with Zendaya and, most recently, Lewis Hamilton. In addition to celebrity collaborations, the universal appeal of athleisure provides an opportunity for designer labels to team up with athletic brands for more accessibly priced capsules. Stella McCartney and Adidas, Karl Lagerfeld and Puma, and Reebok and Victoria Beckham have all had successful sport collections.
Whether lounging at home or hitting the gym, athleisure is the hybrid look to love. Far from the sportswear sets of the 1940s, it is now as high-performing as it is fashionable. Merging textile technology with style, and sometimes a dose of celebrity marketing, active-inspired clothing continues to evolve with the times.
