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Jul 17, 2026
What Is Athleisure Fashion? Trendy High-Performance Materials Used in Sportswear and Recommended Apparel Supplies
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Hello! I'm Kimura from the ApparelX Trend Blog.
Lately, have you noticed that more people are incorporating sportswear—items suited to active settings—into everyday fashion?
In this article, we'll introduce the features of the trendy athleisure fashion that is popular around the world, as well as high-performance fabrics and recommended apparel supplies that are perfect for athleisure items.
What is athleisure?
Athleisure is a coined word combining athletic and leisure.
It refers to a fashion style that incorporates activewear such as sportswear, yoga wear, and running wear into everyday clothing. Traditional sportswear was intended for exercise, but in recent years, as people have started valuing high functionality and more refined designs that are easy to wear in the city without looking overly outdoorsy, it has become established as a new lifestyle.
If you're interested in the similar trend of gorpcore using outdoor items, please also take a look at this blog.
The reason athleisure fashion is gaining popularity is that it combines the functionality unique to sportswear with designs that look great as streetwear.
Against the backdrop of rising health consciousness, the wellness boom, and the spread of remote work in recent years, demand has increased for clothing that is comfortable to wear.
In addition, advances in high-performance materials have led to more items with features useful in daily life, such as sweat absorption and quick drying, 4-way stretch, UV protection, and wrinkle resistance. As a result, they are worn not only for active scenes but also for a wide range of situations such as commuting and travel.
Brands driving athleisure's popularity
lululemon, the brand that originated the style, is known as a representative brand that helped spread athleisure fashion by offering high-quality yoga wear. Its items combine functionality and design, making them highly popular not only for yoga and fitness scenes but also as everyday clothing.
Today, many brands, starting with sports brands such as Nike and adidas, are offering athleisure items. In Japan as well, lifestyle brands such as emmi, which blend yoga wear with Ladies fashion, have become trendy. In this way, recent athleisure has been attracting attention as clothing that is easy to wear for everyday use and comfortable in daily life, not just during exercise.
▲lululemon
▲NIKE - nike skims
▲emmi
Popular athleisure items and ApparelX recommended products - how to choose fabrics and notions -
In athleisure fashion, popular items balance ease of movement for actual active scenes with designs that can also be used as everyday wear.
Here, we introduce ApparelX-listed products by popular athleisure item category, along with keywords recommended for material selection.
Jogger pants
Featuring a tapered silhouette that narrows toward the ankles, this is a standard athleisure item. It also works well for a wide range of situations such as commuting and travel, so it is recommended as a unisex item for both men and Ladies. Stretch fabric that combines lightness and ease of movement pairs extremely well with jogger pants. Using a silicone cord stopper at the waist and hems can reduce the discomfort of it digging into the skin.
A 4-way stretch fabric made with nylon/polyester yarns in both warp and weft, featuring supple stretch. It is also water repellent for high performance. Slightly lightweight, with a dry touch and...
It uses plenty of polyester high-twist yarn and expresses a textured structure through a different yarn arrangement.
Its natural wrinkled look, natural stretch, and excellent skin separation thanks to the uneven surface are its defining features.
In addition to quick drying, it uses an environmentally friendly fluorine-free water repellent agent...
These are a standard, popular item for yoga, Pilates, and gym wear. Since they fit the body closely, stretch and comfort are important, so high-gaugetricot and stretch jersey fabric are recommended.
A basic fabric from SASAKISELLM's standard High Tension series, this is a tricot jersey made from nylon/polyurethane. It is characterized by more than enough stretch, making it stress-free...
A material developed with consideration for today's and tomorrow's society. This tricot fabric has a moderate thickness and offers antibacterial, UV protection, and cool...
Not only is it used as an inner layer, but the style of wearing it as a top (a visible garment) has also become established. Because comfort is essential, it is recommended to use power net in the lining to improve fit and stabilize support.
A tricot fabric with sweat-absorbing, quick-drying properties.
It can be used for both land and water, and is also suitable for swimwear.
Uses semi-dull cationic irregular cross-section yarn...
Excellent stretch and recovery, vivid color, grid mesh, highly quick-drying *For roll orders, enter 50 in the quantity field. Set the roll quantity! The maximum cut length for this item is 5m. Same color number...
Tops that are easy to incorporate into everyday wear are popular for both men and Ladies. In Ladies styles, cropped lengths are also very popular, and choosing sheerness-resistant fabric gives peace of mind.
A high-performance knit with a smooth knit structure and a refined sheen. It has a soft feel against the skin, is comfortable even when worn directly against the skin, and has a simple yet elegant finish. In addition, the UV protection finish cuts ultraviolet rays, and sweat-absorbing quick-dry...
A sustainable material using spun yarn of EASTMAN's acetate . In addition to a silk-like lustrous sheen, color development, and supple texture, it offers excellent cool-to-the-touch and quick-drying properties...
Manufacturer: Uni Textile (Komon Kobo) / Supplier: Okura Shoji
This spacer knit achieves a lightweight, cool, breathable structure through a three-dimensional mesh construction. It has body, resists sheerness, and can also express a heather effect. *For roll orders, enter 30 in the quantity field...
Manufacturer: Uni Textile (Komon Kobo) / Supplier: Okura Shoji
This is a popular item for wearing when moving between the gym and other facilities, as well as for one-mile wear. We recommend something lightweight, easy to move in, and with a high proportion of synthetic fibers.
A wide-width, lightweight spacer knit fabric that can be used for outerwear. It offers UPF50+ high UV protection performance, 99% ultraviolet blocking rate, high stretch, and excellent rebound. Suitable for outerwear such as hoodies...
A standard fall/winter material using anti-pilling A/W yarn. It also has stretch, so it can be used for a wide range of applications from tops to bottoms. *For roll orders, enter 50 in the quantity field...
This high-performance outerwear offers light weight, water repellency, and windproof performance, and is useful in a wide range of settings from outdoor activities to town use. If you prioritize lightness, nylon fabric with a fabric weight of 60 to 90 gsm is ideal. A size 3 coil zipper is the basic and easiest to match, but a size 4.5 AquaGuard® zipper, which combines thinness, lightness, and water sealing, is also recommended because it maximizes the appeal of a lightweight outer layer.
A sustainable fabric from the ReCONHny® series, made using nylon regenerated from textile waste. Despite being a fine 20D, it retains nylon's characteristic toughness and strength. Environmentally friendly fabric...
A lightweight taffeta made with bright nylon monofilament. It is a ripstop construction with a moderate sheer feel and striking reflected light. The fine grain created by the black-dyed weft thread and air washer changes depending on the angle...
Coil zippers are made from polyester and other resins, and the elements are in a coil shape. Because it has continuous elements, it is more flexible than metal zippers and Vislon® zippers...
What do you think? Athleisure fashion combines the functionality of sportswear with the design appeal of everyday clothing, making it a fashion trend where modern trends and lifestyles overlap, don't you think? Of course, it's not just about design; many items also incorporate high-performance materials such as stretch, sweat absorption and quick drying, and waterproof breathability.
Athleisure fashion extends beyond the sportswear market to town use, outdoor activities, and travel wear, and it will likely continue to become a standard fashion genre in the future.
Please take a look at the functional products listed on ApparelX here.
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