Athleisure sales show upswing

After years of tailoring and military inspired designs dominating men’s fashion and style, 2016 saw a swing back to a more comfortable and relaxed style of dressing giving rise to the Athleisure trend and a demand for stylish clothing that fits consumers increasingly complex lifestyles.

Market analysis website Euromonitor reports sales of “sports inspired clothes” having a percentage year-on-year growth of 5.92 per cent worldwide and a growth of 8.23 per cent in the UK alone, compared with a negative growth of sales of suits of -0.3 per cent across the 2015-2016 period. This is good news for those working in both the knitted/performance fabric industries and clothing manufacturers specialising in sports and leisure wear, lounge wear and lingerie.

This mega-trend is unisex; however, the industry should take note that the menswear sector is predicted to grow most rapidly. Market and trend analysis website Mintel stated in its 2016 report: “Sales of men’s clothing are expected to increase over the next five years, and grow at a faster pace than women’s clothing over the same period. Men aged 25-34 are key to the market due to their transitional life stage as well as their relatively higher earnings.”