Why we traded heels for sneakers
Half a year ago on couture the show of Chanel models took to the podium in evening dresses and sneakers - from tweed and lace, but still. At this point, it became clear: the tendency to "move to sports", long noticed on the streets, reached even the oldest fashion houses. The story continued in the autumn show Chanel, which opened Cara Delevingne in pink leggings, cropped top and again in sneakers. Not to mention that the brand-name tweed in the collection sided with leather shorts and high lace-up wrestlers, and the pearl beads were stylized as a bling-bling chain from the hip-hop fashion of the 80s (something like Lagerfeld showed in 1991). The advertising campaign of the autumn-winter collection Lagerfeld took off in the gym, and he is clearly not afraid to mark the main global trends head on.
Nike Air Max and adidas Stan Smith sneakers everywhere are combined with evening dresses and classic trench coats in any street-style. Sports brands arrange collaborations with designers from Mary Katranza to Raf Simons and collaborate with the best photographers, graphic and fashion designers, artists around the world. The design of sports things is evolving at lightning speed - perhaps faster than Zara sketching sketches from things on the catwalks of fashion weeks. So, Nike is not the first season working with artists, presenting a limited collection of leggings and tops, which are applied art prints along the lines of the curves of the body - and these things you want to wear not in the gym, but from morning to night.
This process of adaptation of highly specialized things does not happen for the first time: a noticeable part of the wardrobe of a modern person has gone from utilitarian to everyday use, including a once-working uniform like jeans and overalls or a military one like bombers. Sports items are increasingly found in closets, even those who never went to the gym - although this expansion began a century ago. The influence of golf and tennis (culottes, hello!), Bicycles, skis and the first sports collection of Elsa Schiaparelli Pour le Sport, the appearance of synthetic fabrics (lycra and polyester) in the 50s, the influence of the 60s skate culture and so on gradually the fact that sports items today occupy their niche in stores, where it was customary to buy expensive outfits for a special occasion.
The appearance of beautiful sportswear itself pushes women to do more sports and take a new attitude to their lifestyle.
Sections and activewear clothing lines appeared on Net-A-Porter, Luisa Via Roma, Shopbob, Barneys, VFILES sites: they sell both their own activewear lines and adidas by Stella McCartney to Norma Kamali. "We noticed that our site was not occupied by a niche for those who love fashion and sport at the same time and want to look beautiful always," said Alison Lohenis, president of Net-A-Porter, an online store that launched the activewear section less than a month ago .
The fusion of sportswear with casual wear today can be compared to what happened in the 80s. Especially then sports models of sneakers and clothing gained popularity outside of sports fields. Some sports brands converged with the audience through music (adidas and Run-D.M.C.), Others through sports stars (remember the Nike contract with Michael Jordan in 1984). However, both giants still adhere to a similar concept: for example, adidas cooperate with Rita Oura and Farrell Williams, and Nike cooperates with Olympic athletes. Another example from the 80s is the campaign of Reebok Pump, whose face was the step-aerobic star of those years, Jean Miller: videotapes with Reebok "Everybody Steps" lessons diverged in millions of copies, and sneakers with the rise of Reebok Pump (much like Isabel Marant wedge sneakers) went beyond the training halls.
It was in the 80s that the Air Force basketball sneakers became a landmark for the hip-hop community, and the Air Max 1 running sneakers after the release in 1987 - the iconic urban model. The cycling movement takes its place in the merger of activewear with ready-to-wear: in the 80s, the famous iD stylist Ray Petri wears bicycles and T-shirts with logos on the streets of London, and today Levi's create a special elastic, dirt and water repellent denim for riding bike ride.
What is happening now with sporting things is, of course, due to the massive passion for running and walking, as well as a change in the lifestyle itself. The 2010s is the era of healthy eating versus fast food and sports as opposed to heroin chic and the self-destruction of techno and rock culture of the 90s and early 2000s. As Nike’s vice president of training, Heidi O'Neal, says: “Today, the relationship between sports and everyday life is changing. You go jogging in the morning or go home using applications on your smartphone, then cycling to work and in the evening after work you can go to another yoga class. " Thus, sport and life come together, and as a result, sportswear becomes everyday: clothes must correspond to the way of life.
Moreover, this is a two-way process: the very appearance of beautiful sportswear in recent years has been pushing women to exercise more and to treat themselves and their lifestyle differently. The post-workout look is gaining popularity. Sports things let the air through, take away moisture, do not lose color and retain their shape after washing, are beautiful and cost only a little more than a mass market like Zara and Topshop. But the mass market is not far behind: Uniqlo boasts technology and the concept of life wear, in which the Japanese blur the line between sports and everyday life. Following them, the H & M Swedes are catching up, launching the H & M Sport line at the beginning of the year.
Heels no longer fit the rhythm of life of a modern woman who does everything on the run
A similar process occurs even with laundry. Bras today are successfully replaced by sports tops and bras, simply because it is beautiful and comfortable: they do not press anywhere, do not squeeze and support in those places where it is necessary, and neither we nor our partners suffer any more with clasps. What can I say, if the line of sports bras is even represented by Victoria's Secret, and leggings and bicycles are worn under the dress, under the shorts, and under the culottes (remember the Wood Wood SS14 show).
The growing popularity of sportswear, especially sneakers, is associated with an elementary need for comfort and functionality: heels no longer suit the rhythm of life of a modern woman who does everything on the run. Most residents of large cities have long abandoned their shoes and replaced them with sneakers, blanks, or space design. Heel shoes are an attribute of a special occasion, but even for parties, many choose elegant dresses in combination with comfortable shoes: dancing all night on heels is trite contrary to common sense, and everyone acknowledged this, even in the niche of luxury clothes and shoes.
At first, Prada, Céline and Louis Vuitton invented their sneakers and slip-ons, almost everyone followed them, brands offered their sportswear or new brands appeared. Recently, New York fashion critic Robin Berkeley launched the brand Live the Process, which she calls sports Alaïa (a girl makes sculpted sports things from spandex) and organized her sales at Barneys. Robin repeats the idea that the growth of activewear is a reflection of the lifestyle and modern picture of the world: "My friends who used to gather in bars are now going on bike rides. Social communication is changing."
Do not underestimate the scale of the phenomenon: any girl will confirm that the sneakers almost completely replaced the other shoes, and dozens of pairs of beautiful shoes have been idle for a long time unworn on the shelves of our closets. No wonder: if you can walk around the clock in super comfortable shoes, so why ruin your life and wear uncomfortable? Another shoe, it seems, is also time to start worrying: today there are suitable sneakers for both heat and cold. So, Nike offers Breath technology for summer (mesh upper for breathability and lightweight foam soles), and for winter, warmed versions of classic Nike models (waterproof, slip resistant and windproof), adidas are Energy Boost sneakers resistant to any weather. Presumably, not far off are those that will withstand low temperatures and will be heated.
As iD columnist Cleo Le-Tan writes: “In the States, everyone plays sports. But I don’t, I am indifferent to sports. But I like the comfort that you spend all day with you running around the city. However, regarding sports fashion, I was just dinosaur: I just discovered for myself how comfortable it is in Nike and New Balance sneakers - as if you walk on weightless soap bubbles, and not on asphalt. Since then I don’t wear anything except sneakers, and now I don’t have one the question of why everyone is wearing sneakers, and I am proud to be a part of this sneakers. " With sadness, looking around at all the boxes of high-heeled shoes that have accumulated in our home and in the editorial office, we confirm: and so do we.