GONE are the days when a sports shop is just about white shoes. These days, they have become “lifestyle stores” as the word “sports” encompasses so much more.
When you consider how gym culture has taken over people’s lives, no wonder fitness togs are also now viewed in a brand new light. Clothes, and accessories like footwear and bags have become so fashionable, stylish and comfortable that it’s hard to resist them even if you’re not into exercise!
This spring, adidas takes its cue from the popular Stella McCartney collection for women, and sportswear for activities like cycling and triathlon is included as well. The collection, claims adidas, remains the only line available for women which fuses performance and style, combining cutting-edge adidas technologies with McCartney’s unique designs. Add to the mix 100% organically grown cotton apparel pieces and footwear using sustainable materials, and there you have it – a distinctive functional fashion range.
It consists of apparel, footwear and accessories for golf, running, gym, tennis, swimming and wintersports.
“I’m always trying to push myself and this new collection has everything you need in sports today: it is sleek, stylish and super sporty. Technically, both new sports are exciting, they are very personal yet still competitive, and they combine both a city and country experience, which is very important to me,” said Stella McCartney in the press release.
The new triathlon range features the sleek and sexy high-performance Tri Performance Swimsuit. It’s made from shiny finish functional polyamide with feminine details and sheer fabric in a deep V-shape through the chest and the back.
The cycling line features tight, sexy silhouettes; highlights include the Performance Zip T with a vibrant zebra print graphic and unique feminine ruched sleeves and the Performance Bib, a reinterpretation of the traditional cycling suit with a typical cheeky Stella twist. The collection also features the Performance Padded Tight, glove, cap and the Imbris shoe.
The season’s best-selling Running collection continues to feature standout design details with bold, ornamental “Stella” prints, and dynamic futuristic blue and silver metallic shades.
The Gym collection offers three segments: studio, dance and yoga. For the Gym Studio line, it’s about ultra lightweight performance fabrics for burn-out fabric Ts, simple clean cut hoodies with giant pockets and puffy sleeves in pool blue and scarlet red, along with ultra tight hot pants and tights. Check out the high-performance Intus Gym shoe and the stylish Sersa sports bag.
Gym Dance features a vivacious, stand-out zebra print and distinctive pops of colour. Combined with loosely-constructed lightweight fabrics, the line gives a more relaxed silhouette. The Yoga range comes in soft fabric that has the environment stamp and certification. Again, loosely-constructed lightweight fabrics offer greater freedom of movement and structured, high neck collared jackets with quilted detailing make for a smarter fit.
The Tennis collection is inspired by the playful unique twists found in Stella’s own line. It combines graceful draping, ruching and layering with delicate feminine detailing and refined finishes, elegant cuts and bold floral embroidery creating a sophisticated but active feel. The collection also features the Lucrari G shoe, which will be worn by tennis star, Caroline Wozniacki.
Golf attire comes in smart, military style double-breasted jackets with metal trims, storm pockets and combat fit cropped pants. Gals can go for oversized loop trims and pleats, extra-large pretty polos and three-quarter pants to create a sharp but feminine look.
Another label that subscribes to that stay active and chill out philosophy is Nike Sportswear. Its global creative director Richard Clarke believes that this blurring of boundaries is a logical development of style-savvy athletes, embracing the notion that “they shouldn’t have to sacrifice personal expression to participate in sports.”
Football is celebrated with established and emerging artists from six countries working together with Nike to fashion alternative Team Kits. Nike wanted to include the kinds of apparel and accessories that would fit right in a footballer’s bag. So, each artists contributed a badge, mascot, print and a letter (from the alphabet) written in their own handwriting.
Each collaboration includes a N98 Track Jacket, AW 77 hoodie, kit T, polo shirt and shorts for both men and women, as well as Ts for men and tank tops for women.
Nike’s shoe innovation is called the Torch and it utilises a lightweight, moisture-managing, supremely comfortable three-layer textile. The design adopts a cut-the-weight, lose-the-bulk mindset. A cult favourite for runners and sneakerheads, the Air Max BW, gets the Torch treatment for its Gen II version.
The Nike LunarLite Rejuven8 is now constructed as a one-piece seamless boot, and runners can look forward to the LunarElite+ that comes with runner-specific cushioning and is built for speed.
