Yoga, tennis, fitness: How sports is shaping this season's fashion trends

The pleated tennis skirt will be one of this summer's must-haves. Photo: AFP

Calling all amateur sports fanatics! While summer fashion is set to go bold, that's not the only trend in store this season.

Riding high since the beginning of the pandemic, sporty looks are also winning over womenswear wardrobes, with yoga suits, tennis skirts and waist packs on the rise.

Summer will be the season of every extravagance, as seen over and again since the beginning of the year.

But the less daring among us will be able to swap incoming aesthetics like the weird girl look and low-rise cuts for sports-inspired outfits, another key trend of the summer.

Read more: Can Mark Zuckerberg save virtual fashion? Only if Meta steps up its game

This wardrobe will be mainly inspired by fitness, yoga and tennis, but we can also expect to see more unusual garments and accessories straight out of the past decades.

And on this front, it's the 1980s that seem to be leading the way.

Think full-on 80s workout video attire. This is especially true for yoga suits – aka unitards – which have seen search interest jump in the past month.

Global fashion search engine Stylight reports an increase of more than 1,000% in clicks on unitards in May 2022, compared to the previous month.

As such, sun salutations meet vacation style this summer. Sports-inspired "exercise dresses" will also be on the agenda, with a 300% increase in clicks in May, not to mention waist packs (+34%).

Another piece directly inspired by the world of sports, and more particularly tennis, the pleated skirt (+107%) will also be stepping out this summer.

The micro mini-skirt – as seen on the Miu Miu runway in October 2021, as part of the Spring/Summer 2022 collection showcase – probably has something to do with what's driving this trend.

Read more: Fur in fashion is bad, but fashion for fur babies is a welcome thing

A real hit on social networks, this model has inevitably influenced some of the summer trends.

Among the sports-inspired brands currently generating the most interest are Alo Yoga (+44%) and Girlfriend Collective (+38%), both of which offer everything you need to look stylish in sportswear throughout the summer season.

The data reported by Stylight is based on the April 1-30 period versus the May 1-31 period. – AFP Relaxnews