It used to be simple.
Sportswear was about sports gear. Generalist (shorts, t-shirt, tracksuit…) or specific (gymnastic leotards, football boots, diving suit…). It was about moving and being free to do it. It was about knitted construction, lycra and later on technical mesh that drive sweat out or keep us warm under extreme conditions.
It came in certain colours in order to be able to identify teams easily, it was with big numbers to identify players and it was displaying big logos because this was how business was done, in sports.
And one day the leggings dared walking in the streets…
Sneakers opened nightclubs’ doors, whilst they used to be an easy reason not to let you in. Models walked down catwalks in hoodies. Influencers posted endless selfies wearing sustainable tracksuits.
When I typed ‘sportswear’ in Pinterest, the first thing that comes out is an advert about a Levi’s hoodie. From the brand that brought workwear to the world. Can this be sportswear too ?
Lazy bum fashion union
Now some people make a difference between sportswear (clothing designed especially for sports purposes) and activewear (clothing designed for exercising). To complete the picture, there is now also homewear, for the lazybum version of soft sweatshirts and athleisure, which sounds like sporty clothes for occasional to non sporty-yet fashion conscious people who care about looking good on their yoga pictures.
Fashion made up with function
Sportswear has permeated all types of fashion. From highstreet to luxury. Sportswear has become the fastest selling category as we are all forced to spend more time at home nowaday.
It sounded interesting to question why we felt so comfortable in clothes that were originally designed for other purposes and why some items -like tracksuits- keep on reflecting an image which not all social groups are comfortable with (tracksuits remain associated with the stigma of laziness, scruff or scum).
Notes to our fashion-selves for later
It occurred to me that this now global (& here to stay) phenomenon, originated by kids overlooked by the system, encompasses a lot of major social matters which understanding could serve fashion at large. Sportswear gathers subcultures that became mainstream. Sneakers history in particular owes a lot to black culture influences, starting from the South Bronx, in the 1970s. And even though the industry still ought to do more in terms of representation, sportswear brands are where you could still find some designers of colour.
Sportswear has been long dominated by its menswear segment, while at the same time the representations of femininity have been challenged and are going through a thorough overhaul. It is now one of the first categories where it is becoming common to display unisex collections. Finally, sportswear is advocating for a better way of living. Encouraging the youngsters to move more (may it be on a skateboard) and pioneering more sustainable production modes (recycled materials, production on demand…) whilst remaining affordable.
This is why I care about sportswear.
The objective here is to think through creative ideas for a near future of fashion by better understanding a peripheral-gone-global phenomenon that taught us a lot without anybody paying much attention to it.
Sportswear Era 