Athleisure: Catch the Trend, Try it!, Make your Call

In the past athletic apparel has been confined to the gym, but with the emergence of Athleisure, these clothes have been breaking down this barrier allowing people to feel confident, athletic and empowered outside the gym.  As a graduate student in the Northwestern Medill IMC program, I believe that athleisure is a trend that is here to stay. 

In the article, Lululemon, Nike and the Rise of ‘Athleisure’, written by Greg Petro and published by Forbes discusses the rise of athleisure in American culture and why he believes it’s a lucrative shift in the retail and fashion industry. Petro defines athleisure as “athletic apparel that people can wear in non-athletic setting”, and that many analysts believe this to simply be a passing fad. After explaining the incredible growth that both Nike and Lululemon have experienced in the past year, Petro concludes that investors are missing out on one of the “most lucrative opportunities the retail and fashion industry has to offer”.

           

Dana Blankenhorn, an author on amigobulls.com agrees that athleisure is a craze that shows no sign of ending in his article Getting in on Athleisure Craze with Nike Stock.  Dana compares brands like Nike and Under Armour showing that both their net incomes and shares on revenue have increased dramatically over the last year, Under Armour slightly more. She even discusses Lululemon and Skechers as brands that have experienced growth due to their products being designed with athleisure in mind. Dana agrees that “athleisure is not going away” siting that with executives at Silicon Valley and CEO’s sporting athleisure, the trend is sure to stick.

After reviewing these articles and from my experiences in the Northwestern Medill IMC program, I have developed three action items you must consider.

1.     Catch the Trend: Understand what athleisure is and the articles of athletic apparel that it includes.

2.     Try it! : Wear  your athletic apparel in your everyday life, to class, on the train, to the store, out to dinner or even on a date!

3.     Make your call: Experience all the benefits from athleisure and then take your stance on if it’s a trend you want to be a part of.

Athleisure: a trend no one foresaw but one that is taking the nation by storm, one that is here to last.

[Northwestern, Medill, IMC, Athletics, Lacrosse, Nike, Under Armour, Lululemon, Skechers, Athleisure, Athletic Apparel, Gym, Clothes, Shoes, Sneakers, Greg Petro, Forbes, Craze, Trend, Stock, Dana Blakenhorn, Amigobulls, CMO, CFO, CEO]

After completing my undergraduate degree at Northwestern University while competing on the Women’s Lacrosse team for all four years, I decided to stay and complete my graduate degree through the Medill School of Journalism’s Integrated Marketing Communications Program. I will be graduating in the summer of 2016 and plan to pursue a Marketing career in the athletic apparel industry. If you wish to contact me my LinkedIn name is Paige Jones, and my Twitter handle is @IMCpjones14.