What kicked off as a mere sports spirit in fashion to celebrate the London Olympics in 2012, has today taken a much rooted and still growing turn in the apparel industry across markets spanning mass to luxury, to be coined as a staple segment of ‘sports inspired clothing’. Taking stronger shape in the advent of preparing for the FIFA World Cup 2014, manufacturers and brands joined hands to roll out collections that are sportier in mood. Supporting sales globally is the sudden urge to live a healthier lifestyle, especially by the youth, with toned body shapes. With more than a few reasons boosting the trend – sporty chic, sport couture, and sports fashion are the new looks being popularized on the fashion streets, with styles changing in appeal and elements…
Sportswear a few seasons back was a look that was for decades restricted to ‘gyming’ and exercising schedules or for athletes available in exclusive sports brands like Nike, Adidas, Umbro, Puma, Reebok and the likes. But the trend has now taken over the runways, catching the attention of designers like Alexander McQueen, Burberry, Christopher Kane, Jonathan Saunders, Erdem, Paul Smith, Victoria Beckham and Vivienne Westwood, who made the first of sports collections in 2012 to win hearts of fashionistas who could afford them. This marked the beginning of sports fashion, as other designers joined the gang, giving the look a chic twist in 2013, spreading the idea into the masses.
Leaving aside the typical sports garment, designers this year have experimented with clean lines and a minimal vibe playing around in day-to-day basic silhouettes. Elements such as mesh inserts, sharp cuts, cut-outs and detailed colour blocking made the attires look casual yet sporty. Sweats and skirts have surfaced to be one of the high-flying trends of fall 2013, along with dresses paired up with jackets and sweats, gowns that had an athletic make, sweatshirts combined with shorts, skater skirts and dresses were all a recurring lot appearing in the collections of Prabal Gurung, Max Mara, DKNY, Anna Sui and Rag & Bone for 2014.
Taking it higher for the luxury category, sporty elements mixed with sophisticated tailoring, embroideries, embellishments, beading, fabric innovation, panelling and other statement details is today what is being quoted as ‘sports couture’, with designer like Chanel, Marni and Prada, breaking their traditional image of extravagant couture, to sports inspired couture. Sequin sweatpants, pastel jackets and blazers, contoured jersey dresses and silk culottes have made for a spunkier sportswear category, as most announced these as ‘the’ wardrobe essentials for the coming seasons.
Done not only by international designers, the real impact of the trend is now being felt, as even the Indian designers have adopted the look. Elaborating on the growing demands of this perceived smarter silhouette, Gautam Gupta, Owner of Autre says, “The sports look in my opinion is a more fitted look, meant for a consumer who has a healthier body and can carry it off. With the FIFA coming up next year, the trend is on a move, giving variety to people. There was a monotony going on in fashion, and sportswear has given casual and semi formal, that much needed edge. Even though the trend is spreading quickly in the west, in the Indian market it is moving a little slow as people still don’t have fitted bodies, but we are definitely in the transformation age and in 1 or 2 years, the look here will also mature.” Extremely positive of the entire feel of the sports inspired clothing, Gautam also states that the elements being used are drawstring waists in lowers, cropped jackets, and the use of zippers on the outside which will be big in fall 2014, along with hoods in jackets, kurtas and shirts with hoods. The fabrics are still cotton blends and cotton silk but having a sports add-on to them.
Catering to a foreign clientele, designer Anupama Dayal claims that the trend is also being popularly picked up by the Middle Eastern market. “Our buyers from the Middle East have also been looking for full sleeves and full lengths, but now they are asking for shorter and smarter lengths with shorter sleeves which are new. It seems that women are more confident of their bodies now and accepting the trend fast,” says Anupama. Adding onto the overall feel of the look, she states, “The sports inspired trend is absolutely a growing one, a healthy trend making its space in mainstream fashion. For me, the look is adaptable across body types, with sports elements being mixed with Indian fashion. There are salwars with stripes on the sides, track pants as lowers, and also the use of a sports bra replacing the traditional choli and as inners for kurtas. Even the hood is a new element being combined with chiffon and silk jackets. With the bust being the most fitted, the sports jersey fabrics is also being used now.”
Trickling down from the runways, manufacturers too have started to get demands of styles that are sportier in nature. Not only through sporty elements, but the look is becoming more mass and ready-to-wear though the kind of fabric used for the product development for the forthcoming designs, keeping the silhouette basic, as in the case of basic T-shirts and the look is more sporty. “For us the sports inspired trend is in terms of the fabrics, as the new demand is for knits in light GSM’s and spandex, replacing the old single jersey fabrics. These fabrics impart a much more fashionable shape to the garments as they are more body hugging and therefore are perfect for fitted bodies. For now we have been getting such orders mainly from the European market, from buyers like, C&A,” says Milton John, Managing Director, Cotton Blossom, Tirupur.
Supporting the thought is also, R. Gopinath, COO-India of PGC Textile Corporation, which mainly deals with outerwear segment, as he claims, “the sportswear trend is definitely on a rise. While the hardcore activewear market is demanding for more performance fabrics in clothing, replacing the regular fabrics – anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, sweat absorbent, anti-frost and water repellent properties have become very common. While sportswear and activewear is taking a performance-driven leap, even casual wear is bound to become sports inspired, with styles driven by comfort. Also sportswear has always been more about the fabric finishes; and casual sportswear will be more about the feel and the aesthetic of comfort in the future.”
One way or the other, the underlining element of fashion today is being inspired by the idea of sports strongly attached to the growing need of well-being in people in the future. As long as the mindset of the masses will run towards a healthier lifestyle, even the fashion in their daily lifestyle will be driven by elements of sports. A strong trend for 2014 and even 2015, the look is here to stay and only to mature with time, in couture, high street and mass fashion alike!
