The fashion industry never fails to stay away from the limelight for all reasons and seasons. Athleisure fashion has now spent enough time in countries like South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya to name a few. However, athleisure fashion is still subject to many concerns and criticisms like in the rest of the world. Stakeholders in this space of fashion must know them to avoid them. The objective of this blog is to help athleisure fashion brands, manufacturers, and retailers stay aware of the concerns and criticisms surrounding athleisure fashion so that they can address these in their business models, business plans, quality control, and design and manufacturing.

Impact on Environment

The fashion industry adversely impacts the environment in several ways. The requirements of resources like land and water in the early stages of a fashion value chain tend to remain high. For example, enormous volumes of land and water are required for the cultivation of cotton. Synthetic fibres and fabrics, the major raw material in clothes, are sourced from fossil fuel crude oil. Processes like dyeing and finishing emit hazardous chemicals and microplastics into water bodies. The plumes of smoke that come out of the smokestacks of manufacturing plants are a serious contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Last but not least, there is a dearth of disposal systems for clothes and shoes that are no longer wanted. These wastes eventually make their way into the landfills. In the face of these concerns, it becomes critical for stakeholders in the athleisure industry to follow sustainability measures as applicable and required. It is better to be proactive in these matters because laws governing environmental protection tend to be stringent. Being an environment-friendly and sustainable brand also helps build goodwill and a positive image. Of all, the most important requirement for businesses is to have a sound conscience about caring for the planet. Attending athleisure trade shows and conferences and networking events for the athleisure industry could prove to be helpful in staying updated on relevant environmental issues among other topics. These concerns and criticisms also partially explain the growing demand for experts in sustainability consulting for the athleisure industry.

Perceived Deviation from Culture and Tradition

Clothing is integral to culture. Fashion, in some of its forms, can also lead to perceived deviation from cultural and traditional values and norms. One of the biggest allegations on fashion is that it challenges the norms of modesty. Deviation can also occur in the case of borrowed fashion ideas. Creativity can sometimes take the road of fusion. In fashion, this can lead to creating feelings of offence and disrespect. There are also apprehensions in many quarters that modern fashion trends (like athleisure) can lead to a loss of cultural diversity or render it difficult to preserve unique cultural identities. As fashion is becoming more individualised, oftentimes concerns are raised about the growing emphasis on individualisation from the ideal standards of a sense of community. Coming to the remedial part, it is important for athleisure brands to acknowledge these concerns and act more responsibly and sensibly. They should emphasise collaborating with local fashion designers who would know about the local and regional culture and tradition much better than an outsider. There should be thorough market research on the relevant subjects involving local customers and renowned members from the fields of art, culture, and fashion.

Impact on Work Cultures

Formal clothing aligns with the notions of a formal and professional work culture. Athleisure can create a mismatch here. Even at the level of an individual, the same principles apply. It is unlikely that even an athleisure brand will don athleisure fashion for formal client meetings or press conferences. However, dressing sense is also a form of expression. Within acceptable standards, wearing relaxed and comfortable wear at workplaces helps employees feel the same way when at work. Gone are the days of corporates enforcing dress codes. The problem here is who gets to decide what the acceptable standards are. Moreover, fashion may not be even the right word to take over the dress code when it comes to workplaces. Late-millennials, GenZ and the upcoming Alpha people may find others telling them what to wear unacceptable (if that is what it could be confined to). The takeaway here for athleisure brands and businesses is design innovation by overdosing the element of ‘formal’ in athleisure or incorporating the element of ‘athleisure’ in formalwear. This will also open a whole new market segment for athleisure brands while not doubting that such product ideas already do not exist in the markets. MSME athleisure businesses should also consider getting listed on any popular B2B marketplace for athleisure manufacturers and retailers to stay updated on product designs, fashion trends, and competition.

The Tuxedo Effect

While it may not be difficult to jump into an athleisure costume, the problem is with the many unsolicited expectations or feelings of expectations that engulfs the person inside that costume. It can create the emotional pressure of hitting the gym or doing a workout – which is a good thing if done with the right reasoning. It can also create an urge to perform or be active beyond necessity. Once you are stepping into the realm of ‘looking fashionable’, whether it is athleisure or something else, you will begin to feel lacking in some regard soon enough as fashion is subjective and new trends and designs keep on coming. Social media shows up here to do the rest of the damage in terms of helping people compare themselves with others, showing new products and brands that are not necessarily essentials, and giving rise to unnecessary consumerism. Social circles also influence buying aspirations and behaviour. The role of athleisure brands here is not just to promote their products but also to convey the message of minimalism and prudence in adopting fashion and fashion buying behaviour. This might sound counter-intuitive but it need not be if applied sensibly. A simple example would be offering customers products in sets (say combinations of top wear and bottom wear). This would limit the search activities of customers and help them quickly finalise their purchase. Contributions to charity from individual sale proceeds or association with humanitarian or environmental causes and campaigns could pass the vibes of not just being a customer donning a brand but a responsible global citizen as well. Athleisure industry trends and reports could prove to be useful in keeping track of the relevant developments concerning the subject in question here.

Excessive Emphasis on ‘Casual’

Casual wear, which is common among youngsters, is often blamed for contributing to the ‘casualization’ of many other things in life like work and study affecting the younger generations. Some even go to the extent of saying that it is leading to the loss of the art of dressing up – which traditionally is an act that takes up some amount of effort. For example, many people nowadays prefer jeans to formal trousers for occasions like marriages and other social events. This can be viewed as devaluing or even disrespectful to many people especially, the elderly. In workplaces or business setups, casual wear is also perceived by many as detrimental to one’s projection of professionalism and credibility. Since casual wear is an easy solution, it becomes an option to be used more often and fused with other dress codes. Many believe such an approach amounts to the generalisation of fashion or dressing sense and standards. Athleisure is not far away from casual wear as far as these criticisms are concerned. Somewhere down the line athleisure brands and fashion designers working in the studios have a fair bit of responsibility here of not diluting other dress codes and standards of fashion with athleisure. One way out is to refrain from entering and meddling with the other dress codes.

Durability Factor

Synthetic fabrics are a highly-used input material in athleisure products owing to their superior abilities to deal with sweat and heat during workouts or even running errands. However, synthetics do not score well on strength and durability. Pilling and snagging are also common with synthetic fabrics. Shrinkage and fading are some other possible consequences if proper washing practices are not followed.

To stay updated with fashion trends, fashion brands (including athleisure brands) tend to focus more on bringing out new designs quickly in markets which often leads to compromises on quality. This significantly affects the ability of such clothes to withstand the churns of routine usage. The same consequences occur when the emphasis on style and aesthetics comes at the cost of quality.

From a business perspective, it is not difficult to see that if products do not last long enough, customers might feel deceived, hurting brand reputation. There is a need to maintain stringent criteria for selecting the sourcing platforms for athletic apparel brands (including athleisure).

Safety

The element of shock and surprise is always there in bold and delicate fashion. Even though ideal athleisure fashion is far from the shores of such vulnerabilities, the nature and quality of fabrics that go into the making of certain athleisure wear remains an area of potential concern and consideration.  

For enquiries on retail and eCommerce solutions for athleisure retailers or to speak to one of our expert omnichannel consultants, please drop us a message and we will reach out to you.