Gundega Vjakse

Activewear has outgrown its humble beginnings as sweaty gym clothes and has now sprouted brands with a cult-like mass following. Products like sweatshirts, hoodies and polo shirts have become staple pieces of modern lifestyles and are worn for all sorts of occasions. After the hype of Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop in 2008 and Kate Hudson's Fabletics in 2013, consumers prioritize being healthy and practicing wellness in style. They might not be exercising more, but they sure are exploring the athleisure trend more than ever before. Others take advantage of athleisure apparel being more accessible and incorporate activewear in their day-to-day outfits. With consumer whims changing faster than the fashion seasons, ecommerce store owners take the forefront of apparel retail, while mass-market brick-and-mortar shops producers fail to adapt to this demand-focused module. We prepared some pointers on selling activewear so you can seize this opportunity as well. We’ll go over the different strands of activewear, the steps of introducing your own activewear line and the best ways to reach the target audience. What’s the difference: activewear, athleisure, and streetwear For the longest time, we associated activewear with gym clothes or apparel tailored for specific sports like running, gymnastics, judo, etc. These products are now referred to as sportswear, making activewear a more general term that includes all sorts of sporty, comfortable clothes. With the rise of more spiritual physical activities like yoga, activewear has become a part of the wellness lifestyle and is now worn outside training grounds. This phenomenon is known as athleisure. In fact, according to the NPD Group, athleisure represented almost a quarter of total apparel sales in the US last year. It’s sure to grow in 2019 with more brands following the trend set by Lululemon, which started the athleisure craze with yoga leggings. Lululemon’s success leads to leggings overthrowing jeans as the go-to bottoms for a short while in 2016. Since then other athleisure products have influenced denim production, solidifying the term in the fashion industry. Source: Lacoste Source: Lacoste This isn't the only example of activewear attracting attention from people beyond its target audience. Tennis shoes, better known today as sneakers, were made for lawn sport and tennis athletes and were worn by most students who joined sports teams in the early 20th century. Yet, due to lack of funds, these students wore their sports shoes when attending classes as well. Soon after sneakers transcended their target consumers and were worn as casual shoes. The same goes for polo shirts. Once specific to tennis, the polo shirt was popularized by Grand Slam champion René Lacoste in the 1920s and is now a staple of prep style. Source: Streetwear Official Half a century later activewear sprouted another style—streetwear. It combines characteristics of multiple subcultures, huge online presence and, most importantly, lots of activewear products like graphic tees, joggers, hoodies and sweatshirts. The style was first led by Shawn Stussy and skateboarders of 1970s California, but later got adopted by hip-hop subculture in the 1990s. The style took off with Supreme and A Bathing Ape reaching cult-like following, and with the help of internet and hype culture has now become the new luxury. We’ve seen Supreme and Louis Vuitton collaboration and the rise of Yeezy, Kanye West's collaboration with Adidas, and Chanel introducing sneakers to their product range. Activewear is everywhere! Why sell activewear online? Activewear sales value has grown exponentially this past decade. Allied Market Research expects the global activewear market to reach a value of $546,802 million by 2024. Source: Atlas McKinsey & Company, having predicted a global boost in activewear demand in 2019, allude to mass-market brick-and-mortar apparel retailers struggling to adjust their production model to the fast-paced changes in demand. Due to print-on-demand characteristics, ecommerce store owners with POD services face no such issue—graphics designs can be changed with only a little effort. What’s more, the drop shipping fulfillment method ensures that no store is left with heaps of out-of-style inventory. With that in mind, Shopify has featured athleisure in its annual top-selling trend list (third spot, no less) for the second year in a row and Printful has added more productsspan style="font-weight: 400;"> perfect for a custom athleisure line. How to start selling: Choose a direction You can choose to focus on a custom-made clothing line that requires tailoring know-how and would need to be designed from scratch. This approach would involve more high-cost risks, but also could justify higher pricing. Another approach is partnering with a print-on-demand drop shipping company which offers already designed and tailored clothing that only needs your unique graphic design. This is a much easier approach to starting your own activewear line but allows for limited customization tailor-wise. Custom-made activewear The most growth in athleisure sales is predicted for premium brands with high-level technical capabilities. If you have the tailoring know-how and are willing to invest a lot of technical effort into making need-specific clothing, this is the time for you! Consumers are eager to purchase products that combine both style and high functionality. A definite crowd favorite would be added pockets that reduce the need for extra storage bags. Another way to create an athleisure line your customers would love is to innovate and offer mixed-use products that withstand the test of various activities. High-quality multipurpose items can also be priced higher. Andrew Manteit, director of Active in Style, says that the price point is getting higher and consumers are willing to pay more, as long as the product endures day-to-day wear. Keep in mind that due to the demand-focused market, this approach can lead to out-of-style products left in storage if you’re brand does not have strong enough equity. Print-on-demand activewear If you’re not a professional tailor or fashion designer, partnering with a POD drop shipping company is the easiest way to start your own apparel line. Print-on-demand fulfillment is also a much safer bet. With demand changing rapidly, this fulfillment method lets you focus on creating topical and trendy designs without worrying about the production process. There’s also a smaller chance of making high-cost mistakes. POD dropshipping companies follow market tendencies to offer products that consumers want to buy. Printful's product range keeps expanding and now it covers the essential items you need to create an athleisure line. Some products even have more specific variants, like leggings and their variations—yoga leggings and capri leggings. Yet there are still some limitations that you should be mindful of. POD products cannot be custom-tailored or are limited to a certain range in sizes. Make sure to find a fulfillment partner that suits your needs, order product samples and find athletes that can testify to the quality of the product. What to keep in mind when choosing your activewear products The apparel industry is vast and activewear is no different. Understanding your customers is the first step you need to take when choosing your new activewear products. Market research is equally important—be up to date with the newest trends and changes in demand or find a niche that nobody else has tapped into. What your customer needs Don’t limit yourself to thinking that activewear is meant only for gym rats and sports enthusiasts. Athleisure, as the word suggests, is the combination of athletics and leisure and can easily be described as comfortable clothing, while streetwear transforms similar products into opinionated and fashionable statements. Sportswear products Athletic T-ShirtsRash GuardsSports BrasAthletic Shorts So, if your customer base has a strong active culture, you should choose and market your products with that in mind. Find a specific niche and work around the culture surrounding it. Choose sport-specific products, give them a new twist and a unique personality. Offer rash guards to surfers, printed leggings to yoga enthusiasts, visors and polo shirts to tennis players, or create a whole swimwear line. Athleisure products Raglan ShirtsJoggersTank TopsLeggings If, however, you aim to offer products to the more general public, emphasize the importance of comfort in everyday life. Think of yourself, your friends, and colleagues and what are their needs that your product line can satisfy. Choose products that fit the athleisure trend. Be sure to include a bag or two as an accessory. Caroline Gogolak, the founder of Carbon38, describes her customer as an active woman who runs around, drops her kids off, hurries to work, makes time for meetings and yoga classes, and is in need of performance clothing. Gogolak also notes this happening in the menswear market as well, saying that people, in general, tend to choose more casual clothing. Streetwear products T-ShirtsHoodies & SweatshirtsJacketsHats If your customer base is mainly the younger generation, try to surprise them with a hip and comfortable streetwear line. Not only are these products easier to design, but they also have great marketing potential. This is because most of the streetwear items are worn throughout the year and allow for experimentation. To create a credible streetwear line, put your designs on products made by an already established streetwear brand—Champion. Jump on multiple trends by designing your own Embroidered Champion Bomber Jacket. Plus size activewear products LeggingsHoodiesSweatshirtsShirts What’s more, the active industry is finally catering to plus-size consumers as well. More brands are recognizing the need for size-inclusive apparel, although the market still cannot satisfy all of the demand. Donna Martin...

Ready to try Printful?