Fashion sportswear is big business and growing, according to a recent report by ‘big data’ company EDITD. The company trawls through vast quantities of data from retail websites to track product performance and trends by analysing stock levels, prices, replenishments and discounts, as well as mentions of key phrases across social media channels.
Hot on the heels of Topshop’s high-profile collaboration with Adidas Originals, EDITD compiled a succinct, publicly available report on the sector, with a range of statistical data to support the ‘sportswear revolution’ claim. The report points to the growing popularity of exercise classes – “in the US, there has been 29% increase in yoga practice since 2008” – and the emergence of high-end sportswear labels and collaborations:
“Premium sportswear brands like Lululemon have made it perfectly acceptable to wear activewear in day-to-day life, Stella McCartney’s involvement with Adidas has given designer kudos and the catwalk is mimicking with sports luxe being rehashed season after season.”
This is evidenced by statistics about sales and stock increases: sales of women’s activewear increased 9% in 2013, compared to 2012; in the first quarter of 2014 there has been “a 38% increase in the number of new activewear leggings arriving at online retailers globally, compared to the same period one year ago”.
LCF offer a range of courses that will equip students to take advantage of the fashion sportswear revolution. BA (Hons) Fashion Sportswear is one of the only courses of its kind in the UK, training the sportswear design stars of the future. We also offer a wide array of business, management, marketing and retail courses to get those designs sprinting off the shelves.