If you are someone who follows fashion you know that athletic wear is a very hot trend right now, which means there are new opportunities to engage with in this market. As a former college athlete and current graduate student studying Integrated Marketing Communications this topic is very interesting to me, and I have found two articles that discuss the emergence of this new trend.
The first article I found came from Businessoffashion.com titled, “Why Are Sportswear Giants Nike and Adidas Embracing Fashion?” This article discusses how powerhouses like Nike have began working with models instead of just athletes, placing a greater focus on style; whereas Adidas has continually collaborated with fashion designers including Stella McCartney former curator of popular designer brand Chloé. The article quotes Dirk Schönberger, creative director of Adidas’ sport style division, “Sports style is really a giant consumer vertical; it’s very lifestyle sportswear, so there is much more of a fashion element”, calling attention to the vast potential for the fitness wear fashion movement. The article recognizes that style will always be a huge part of marketing to women (Truth) even when it comes to high performance gear.
The other article “Why Fitness Is Having A Moment In Fashion” was published on fashionista.com. This article talks about the booming sales in the activewear category. It explains that this trend is so large that even pure fashion clothing companies like Free People and Tory Burch are expanding their lines to include fitness gear (which I am so excited about). In general people are more interested in fitness making this a huge market, it doesn’t matter if you are Tom Ford or Kanye West everyone wants a piece of it. People are drawing inspiration from street style and blending the two worlds.
After reading these two articles it is obvious that the fitness fashion trend is here to stay. Drawing from my own interests and experiences as a female student athlete studying Integrated Marketing Communications, I have developed three action items that I would recommend to anyone who wants to be a part of this hot athleticwear trend.
· Leggings, Leggings, Leggings--Tights are the New Jeans” –Nike
· Take Creative Chances—Go retro, add patterns, don’t be afraid of color.
· Embrace Comfort—Beauty is pain no more; clothes can be comfortable and stylish.
Right away the first thing you should do is familiarize yourself with popular styles within “fashionletics” in order to better understand the prospective it can have.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Briana Borsellino is a masters student in the Integrated Marketing Communication program within the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. She would like to pursue a career as a brand strategist, communicator, or planner. She is interested in sports, fashion, and entertainment and hopes to be client facing regardless of the industry she ends up in. You can connect with her on Linkedin or follow her on Twitter, @Bernandb.
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