Apparently there’s been a spike in Aussies trying to start their own activewear labels

Activewear brands are thriving right now, and Aussies want in on a piece of the action. 

News flash: Australians really, really like activewear. 

Not even just us Aussies though – activewear sales were up 40 per cent in the US and 97 per cent in the UK during the first week of April, according to Business of Fashion. Hell, even Anna Wintour was seen sporting a pair of trackies.  

Slyletica, a brand management agency that helps people start their own fashion brands, has seen a 200 per cent increase in entrepreneurs and influencers wanting to start up their own activewear labels. In the past week alone, it’s received almost 500 inquiries, in comparison to the 200 requests it averaged pre-COVID. 

“We only take on five to 10 [clients] per month because it’s not a fad, it’s something that really requires long-term investment. Creating a brand, or any business, isn’t something that you should take lightly; it shouldn’t be done just because everybody else is doing it. That’s why we really look for the right people, with the right followers, with the right ideas to create something that’s unique.”

The increased interest in activewear makes sense, particularly as we enter the colder months when many of us are reaching for a pair of cosy track pants and a sweatshirt, or perhaps that matching tie-dye set you’ve seen flooding your Instagram feed. Plus, being stuck at home means we’re exercising more than ever, often out of sheer boredom. 

And while many Australian fashion labels are struggling under the weight of COVID-19, others are flourishing. P.E Nation’s co-founder Pip Edwards told us that its tracksuit sets drop and sell out in two hours. “Anything that is fleece, oversized and slouchy is trending. Leggings, hoodies and puffers are a huge sales driver too.” 

“People are wearing activewear all day because they can work in comfort, and then train in comfort and don’t have to get changed… We are seeing equally a lot of new customers and returning customers to the website,” she said. 

For Lululemon, there’s been an increase in demand for workout accessories. During their Q4 earnings call, CEO Calvin McDonald noted a rise in sales for yoga mats and yoga blocks seeing as “more and more of [their] guests sweat at home.”

Slyletica founders Simon and Yetta Rawadi have also seen a “ridiculous increase in sales” throughout the activewear brands they manage.  

“One of our more successful influencer brands is Szep, run by Chloe Szep and Mitchell Orval. Their last drop sold 100 per cent of their stock within 24 hours – their store is essentially closed because we literally have nothing else to sell. They would have sold, off the top of my head, 3,000 to 5,000 units of clothes.” 

While they see loungewear – “matching trackie sets, oversized hoodies, oversized track pants” – and workout gear flying off their online shelves, Simon and Yetta both strongly believe that this is a trend that will outlast the COVID-19 period.

“Athleisure has always been there, but we’re in a really unique time with COVID where it has now taken over the fashion space. Even before COVID, we were seeing a lot of brands move into the loungewear and corporate athleisure space. We’re seeing a new era of fashion that’s going to come out of this that’s going to be corporate, athleisure, slash loungewear – mixing comfort, casualness and functionality.”