BE COOL, WEAR CASUAL THE ATHLEISURE MANTRA

On many counts, athleisure is the defining fashion trend of 2018. Form-fitting, athletic-inspired clothes have become the ‘new casual’ and changed the way we dress up for the gym, for social occasions, and even for work. Growing on the back of increasing health and fitness awareness, the industry is estimated to be USD 6-7 bn in India.
Athleisure or active wear is expected to be the next big thing in apparel. The segment is gaining the highest traction with various brands launching and expanding their collections in a bid to cash in on the growing opportunity. For instance, the latest entrant in the race is Danish sportswear major Hummel, which has recently launched its collection in India.

Hummel made its foray in the e-commerce space in India to test waters. “Progress of India excites us a lot. The GDP growth of India as compared to other markets is highly impressive,” says Christian Stadil (owner of the Thornico group & hummel International). Currently selling on Jabong & Myntra in India, the company would look to expand through offline channel.

Other companies such as Arvind Lifestyle Brands, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd, Monte Carlo and Van Heusen have all ventured into the segment over the past 1-2 years. “Today consumers have become more fashion-conscious while earlier they were more price-driven,” says Puneet Kumar Malik, COO, Innerwear Business, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail, which entered the athleisure market in 2016.

Celebrity Power

A market trend to take note of is that even celebrities are embracing casual outfits while some of them are going so far as to launch their own athleisure line. For instance, actors Tiger Shroff and Jacqueline Fernandez have launched their own brands, Prowl and Just F, respectively. However, Shroff and Fernandez are not the first celebrities to introduce active wear brands. In 2013, Hrithik Roshan teamed up Myntra to launch a lifestyle brand called HRX, which primarily operates in the active wear and casual wear space. Industry veterans are sure that the growth of athleisure as a lifestyle choice will only fuel the demand further.

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