ASBCI announces conference on athleisure

Athleisure is fashion’s biggest growth trend of the last few years, and this autumn the Association of Suppliers to the British Clothing Industry discusses this subject at its conference.

In the UK alone last year, the sports-related clothing market rose 8% to £2.5 billion. Athleisure is a fashion juggernaut, but can it continue to grow, and what are the secrets to success in such a highly competitive marketplace?

Driven by the growth in the health and wellbeing industry and fuelled by social platforms such as Instagram, where a host of celebrities share snaps of their clean-living, clean-eating lifestyles clothed in the latest sports-inspired fashion, athleisure has taken the high street by storm. The ASBCI conference will address the current opportunities and future potential of athleisure and look at how the trend’s leading brands and retailers are developing both their product and their customer base.

Graeme Moran, head of content, fashion and features at Drapers, will open the conference with a scene-setting presentation looking at where the Athleisure trend came from and where it is going. He will be joined by an expert line-up of brands, retailers, and analysts who will unpick the details of this fashion phenomenon and provide delegates with insights into what works and what doesn’t and what the industry can expect from athleisure in the future.

Claire O’Neill from Lycra will look at the role that advancing fibre technology has played in the rise of athleisure and the latest innovations underpinning its future. Lectra will provide practical advice on designing and producing activewear garments using technical fabrics, while Jutta Vo Quang from Freudenberg will examine the transition to performance in fashion and highlight some key performance trends to watch. They will be joined by big-name brands such as Boss Menswear, which will share their experiences of launching and operating in the athleisure arena.

The conference will be hosted by Dr Julie King, head of fashion for Northampton University and ASBCI event director.

The conference takes place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Nottingham on Wednesday, November 14.