Athleisure – What is it?

2016 has shaken up the streets like never before, and the root of the storm is the completely rebellious new fashion trend ‘athleisure’. In fact, we think it’s much more than a trend – it’s a whole new lifestyle and we’re pretty certain it’s here to stay. It goes against every rule in the book and against every conventional dress code ever made and the best part is, it’s getting more popular season after season.
In case you haven’t picked up on the term already, athleisure is a clothing style designed for exercise, but worn wherever the hell you want. Our mission here at JIMBAG is to deliver versatile and fashionable fitness gear that will take you straight from the gym to the street and everywhere in between, and that’s exactly the athleisure style too. It blurs the lines between your training kit and your ordinary wardrobe. Over 4 million people in the UK now work from home, so with dress codes being relaxed, comfort has become priority. So regardless of whether you’ve just come from a workout, or you’ve in fact not ‘worked out’ at all, it doesn’t matter – you can dress accordingly.
But why has it all of a sudden become acceptable to turn up to a meeting in your yoga pants? Or for a coffee? Or even a date? Or anywhere, in fact. Maybe 2016 was the year everyone fixed up and actually stuck to their ‘get fit’ new year’s resolution, or maybe the Rio Olympics GB tracksuit was that on-point that it’s been decided that everyone should wear sportswear from now on. Who knows, all we know is that for the first time ever it’s become acceptable and we love it.
And, it’s way more impressive than dull running leggings and a t-shirt. Brands are getting on board with the recent movement and incorporating a whole load of mesh, net, and colour/pattern variations into their latest collections. Lycra has been given a makeover and as for sports bras – they’ve been re-born and upgraded to a whole new level.
If you’re an athlete who spends forever in their kit, there’s no doubt you’ve been praying for this trend to come around for a very, very long time. But now, even if you’re NOT an athlete you can still get away with dressing like one. Athleisure is already a recognised term, used in fashion and sports publications such as Grazia, seen in key fashion campaigns by Topshop and currently trending on Instagram and Twitter as a hashtag. Even Chanel are getting on board.
Never before has the influence of sport played such a key role in today’s fashion trends. We knew the catwalk was called a ‘runway’ for a reason.
Athleisure is JIMBAG. It’s our exact style and it’s our exact vibe. It’s multi-purpose, it’s active and it’s versatile.