This is our brand new fashion series called ' Get the trend', coming every Wednesday! Warwick Fashion Blogger Niamh Smith guides us through the trends which are making an impact in the fashion world right now, and helping you to incorporate them in your own looks!
Welcome to the first edition of the Get the Trend series! This weekly series is all about focusing on different trends that make their way from the runway to the high-street. This week’s edition is going to be focusing on Sports Luxe, or ‘Athleisure.’
If you follow fashion in any way you’re bound to have seen the growing market for sport style clothing, combining comfort with fashion to create simple, often minimalist looks.
A lot of the inspiration for the Sports Luxe look seen in high-street stores can be seen to have originated from Kanye West; the impact of his ‘Yeezy’ brand on fashion is undeniable.
With Kim Kardashian West (Kanye’s very own wife!) being a poster girl for demonstrating how simplistic, sports style clothing can be elevated in to high fashion, sports luxe has quickly filtered down the fashion world into a trend which can be seen widely in high-street and online stores.
Figure one: Kim Kardashian West shows off the Yeezy brand
Figure two: The Pretty Little Thing interpretation of the same look
In its more basic style, everyday – wear athleisure has mainly shaped itself in the form of cycling shorts, baggy joggers and cropped raw edge jumpers. The simplicity of the trend can be seen as what credits it - many of the pieces are extremely versatile due to their elementary style and often muted, or nude, tones.
It’s the subtlety within the pieces that tie them to the sports luxe trend - a stripe on the leg of a jogger, a cuffed sleeve, an O- ring zip or a raw cut hem combines clean cut shapes with a sporty vibe.
However, the trend cannot be solely credited to Mr. West’s influence!
In SS17 Sports Luxe and Athleisure hit the runway in a big way – and highlighted a trend that was here to stay. The 1980s fashion favourite, the shell suit, provides a perfect example of the fashion house fixation on a sportswear vibe. Gucci’s version of the shell suit in Milan Fashion week SS18 was cited as one of Gucci’s most instagrammed catwalk pieces of the season, showing how popular it is.
Sports Luxe, contrary to popular belief, is not a new trend.
It’s been visible since the SS14 Runways, being championed in collections such as Prada and DKNY, which took on the look with bright colours and loud prints. While we’ve now seen a reversion to the more muted tones reflected in the Yeezy collections, the trend’s long-term survival is what sets it apart from other trends which fall out of fashion, due to its combination of comfort, practicability and fashion. It’s these qualities which have made it so great for cool, casual and comfortable wearing today!
Nike CEO of the time, Mark parker, even in 2014 remarked that “ Leggings are the new denim” and it seems the sentiment is still being carried into 2018 with sports luxe seeing a massive revival, particularly in the consumer market.
The trend can be seen on many online stores, such as Pretty Little Thing, Missguided and Missyempire, which retail the trend for affordable prices, making them available to the mass markets ( and for a muchly reduced cost compared to their runway counterparts.)
In a way, the Sports Luxe trend seems perfect for uni clothing; it’s minimal effort, comfortable but still looks fashionable! Anything that ticks all those boxes is a win from us!
Links for you to explore and inspire your own sports Luxe Looks!
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