Jeans get hung out to dry as yoga pants blur fashion lines; Market research is confirming what for years has been dubbed “the Lululemon effect”: yoga pants are the new jeans

Jeans get hung out to dry as yoga pants blur fashion lines

Hollie Shaw | June 1, 2014 | Last Updated: Jun 2 8:30 AM ET
Market research is confirming what for years has been dubbed “the Lululemon effect”: yoga pants are the new jeans.

After a decade of denim domination in which jeans became suitable for nightclubs, back yard gardens and workplaces alike, athletic bottoms are now enjoying a moment not seen since the aerobics craze of the 1980s.

Jeans sales in Canada declined 6.3% in the three-year period ending 2013 to $1.7-billion last year, according to new data from NPD Group Canada. During the same period, the active pants category rose 24.6% to $1.07-billion.

“There was a time when a so-called premium occasion warranted a pair of premium jeans,” said Sandy Silva, fashion and apparel analyst at NPD Group in Toronto.

“Now it’s socially acceptable to wear a pair of premium soft, stretchy pants instead.”

The data clearly illustrates that not all wearers — indeed, very few of them — are actually bending and breathing their way to nirvana in a yoga class.

Just 6% of active pants — be they old-fashioned sweats, leggings or yoga tights — were bought by consumers with the end use of yoga in mind. Only 39% were bought with any sort of athletic activity in mind.

“I don’t wear these to run, but I do end up wearing them all the time,” said Sarah Fisher, who sported a pair of classic Roots sweatpants in a faded red wine shade while shopping at a north Toronto PharmaPlus outlet one night last week.

“I put them on, or another pair, when I get home from work.” Ms. Fisher has also worn black leggings paired with a tunic and sandals for barbecues and to restaurants, she said, and in the winter wears fleece-lined leggings with boots.

She estimates the number of active bottoms and jeans in her closet are about equal. “I would say I end up wearing leggings more,” she said. “More than I used to.”

After Lululemon blurred the lines between gym clothes and fashion, proving people would willingly shell out $100 for a pair of yoga pants only to wear them on the street, high-end designers wanted a piece of the action.

Now one can buy $375 Rag & Bone sweatpants, $500 Burberry leggings, $1,500 Michael Kors cotton cashmere hoodies for women and $900 Alexander McQueen sweatpants for men.

In the meantime, mass retailers have contributed strongly to the category’s growth, with Target, Joe Fresh, Gap, Forever 21 and American Eagle creating their own activewear lines.

“I think a big part of it is comfort, style, fit and how it makes you feel,” said Inez Blackburn, president of Market Techniques and Innovations, a market research firm and consultancy.

“Yoga pants are reinforced with spandex and lycra, and although some jeans have that functionality, yoga pants are designed with those added features to make you look good when you wear them. They are often more flattering then jeans.”

Meanwhile, traditional athletic wear brands such as Nike or Under Armour are not hurting, despite the co-opting from fashion brands and mass retailers.

Nike beat analysts’ estimates in its most recent third quarter, where revenue rose 13% to US$6.97–billion and the athletic company saw increased margins.

Technical apparel giant Under Armour, on a growth tear for years, also beat analysts’ consensus estimates and saw its revenue grow 36% to US$642-million.

And Lululemon, coming off its worst year to date on the PR front with the resignation of its popular CEO, a quality control crisis and off-colour remarks about women’s bodies from its founder, is not standing still while designers and mass retailers cash in on the trend it started.

After branching several years ago beyond its core luon leggings into seasonal garments, casual wear and sport-specific apparel such as running and cycling, Lululemon’s recent test run of a dressier fashion line, &Go, sold out almost immediately.

“When a brand becomes really iconic and is centered around a single product, its consumer evolves and so do their needs, and there is stronger and stronger demand for seasonal product,” the retailer’s new CEO, Laurent Potdevin, told analysts in March, adding the company’s seasonal items were selling four times faster than expected.

“The success of the &Go capsule validates our guest’s appetite for progressive athletic products.”