Athleisure, a type of hybrid clothing, is a fabricated style of clothing typically worn during athletic activities and in other settings. This leisure wear is also worn at the workplace, at school, or at other casual or social occasions, says Wikipedia.
Now, let me give a slice of the cake all want to eat. What I’m going to say is only a slice, and not the whole cake. The word ‘athleisure’ is a recently coined word by the industry and may be by some interested parties who have a liking for blending words to make this word. In today’s world everyone knows the meaning of this word, for it expresses the meanings of what is leisure and athletes, and also what the wearers of both these groups wear…. Let’s get to the point.
Athleisure is a blend of sportswear and leisurewear. The global sportswear market size was estimated at US$ 262.51 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach US$ 288.42 billion in 2020. After 2020, Covid came and industry’s as well as the consumers’ interest sagged a bit. I read another report that says Sportswear’s global market has already hit US$ 533.5 billion in 2020. Latest news says that inflation is under control and that industrial growth is returning to normal, though little slowly. Another information source says that the US inflation will be tackled by the Administration. Hopes are returning as the consumers are starting to crowd malls & super markets, and the industry and retailers piling up the stock waiting for the festival melas to start. When I was writing, Raksha Bhandan and the Independence day celebrations are over.
The Sportech is one of the fast-paced sectors of technical textile the shares of which is around 7% of Indian technical textiles market. The Sportech segment has grown at a CAGR of 19.58% between 2017-18
and 2019-20. The Indian Government’s statistics falls a little short of expectations, but Covid can be defended by anyone for little activities in the industry and elsewhere. It’s true too.
Sports textiles may get some connection with Hometech also. There are enough hints. This is a time for amalgamation and mergers of ingredients to make a good cake (pun intended). Caution: The writer is only giving a bird’s eye view of the sportswear & athleisure.
Read our Cover Story for a bigger slice!
Samuel Joseph
