Gone the way of girdles and bustles are the days when office workers uniformly wore a suit-and-tie or pencil skirts and high heels. Companies have been moving towards business casual for years, and even the most formal sectors such as finance have relaxed their dress codes. American media Vox went as far as to comment that the suit had lost its authority in business and devolved into something that people mostly wear when they are in trouble or not in control of the situation.
And then last year the pandemic hit. Social distancing and movement restrictions rapidly limited the sphere of life to one’s home and immediate neighborhood. It’s been said that “home is now the new frontier” where people work, rest, enjoy leisure time and socialize, accelerating the development away from formality and towards comfort in fashion. The preference for “one-mile wear” has also grown, which refers to garments comfortable yet stylish enough for both staying indoors and quick trips out to somewhere within one mile of one’s house.
Staying sporty even off the sports field
The growing popularity of sportswear is one noticeable development, and the prominent expansion of athleisure clothing is particularly striking. A combination of athletics and leisure, athleisure is sportswear that can be worn for everyday activities. It has already been at the center of casual fashion for several years now, but its comfort and practicality factors have further boosted demand. Spiking interest in indoor workouts, such as home training, yoga and Pilates has also contributed to this.
Existing fashion brands are moving into this space to offer their take on athleisure wear. For instance, KUHO has recently launched its first yoga wear line based on its signature minimal mood.
With a slim silhouette produced by the color combinations and slit detailing, it can also easily turn into daily one-mile wear by combining with other new KUHO casual capsule collection items in keeping with the new lifestyle.
Remaining fashionable indoors
Loungewear, clothes worn when relaxing indoors, is also going through a more stylish evolution. An increasing number of apparel brands are boosting the amount of casual and home wear items in their new collections. For instance, 8seconds has recently collaborated with Korean artist Ae Shoong, incorporating illustrations of cats lounging about at home to its staying-at-home capsule collection.
Some brands are launching their own loungewear lines for the first time. Theory is a good example, having recently debuted its new collection called Luxe Lounge, and luxury fashion house Dior has a new line called Chez Moi, meaning “at my place.” Brands like LEBEIGE are also seeking to differentiate themselves by incorporating luxurious fabrics such as cashmere into their new loungewear offerings.
