Life and Leisure
A different stripe
By Gan Tian (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-12-21 13:56
 |
Large Medium Small |
|
|
Bruce Lee's bright yellow tracksuit with its black stripes became his signature, but fitness gurus these days are a lot better turned out, and fashion as well as function rules the day. Gan Tian looks at the new trends where style dominates the dojo.
When 34-year-old Zhao Xun decided to take up Thai boxing early this month, he needed a pair of gloves, several cotton T-shirts, and comfortable boxer shorts. He went shopping, but he did not turn to sportswear labels like adidas, Nike or Li-Ning, which he thought were "for people between 18 and 30 years old". "I am an old man," he smiled, and went to the Emporio Armani flagship store which opened last month in Beijing's trendy Sanlitun. He bought a pair of EA7 loose shorts, among other things. The EA7 series of tracksuits, shorts and leather sneakers is a cross-over project by sportswear label Reebok and luxury designer Armani - which caters for executives in their 30s who look for character and class in fitness wear and tend to avoid what they perceive as younger sports fashion.
"These consumers are well-educated, rich and have better taste in fashion. They pay more attention to the quality of life, and can afford more luxury products. In sportswear, they have their own standards, too," observes Eric Shya, Time Out Beijing's senior fashion editor.
Not surprisingly, the number in this niche is growing fast. To cater to this expanding market, many luxury brands are beginning to carve out their sections of the lucrative pie.
The EA7 series made its debut at Milan Fashion Week in January this year and has since gone global, attracting a large client base whose interests straddle fashion and sports.
According to Giorgio Armani, sports and casual wear are "two of the most important parts of our daily wear", which explains the success of EA7.
Uli Becker, president of Reebok International, says EA7 "has provided more choices for young consumers who pay attention to design and style".
But EA7 was not the first one in the market.
 Puma's stylish white hoodie. |
In June 2005, Stella McCartney worked with adidas, launching the "Adidas by Stella McCartney" women's line, including swim suits, tracksuits, running shoes and accessories.
McCartney brought a splash of color to a market with products dominated by darker, duller colors. She offers a choice of soft pink yoga jackets, red running shoes and yellow track pants, products which instantly appealed to the young fitness fans in the China market.
This season, the highlight in her collection is the "Glow in the Dark" series designed to improve safety and visibility. It includes the Run Glow jacket in a bold leopard print, and the Run Glow Marialith Runner shoes, both available in China.
"When you are running in an urban environment, you need to feel safe, when people can see you coming and stand out, especially in winter when it gets dark earlier, but at the same time we used it on a leopard print, so it's not so masculine and graphic," McCartney says.
Another much-talked-about adidas collaboration was with top Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto back in 2001. By 2002, Y-3 was launched.
The logo records the collaboration: Y stands for Yamamoto, while the number "3" indicates the three stripes on the adidas logo. With Yamamoto's idea of "less is more", Y-3 has brought sportswear to a higher level and transformed it into a high fashion label on its own merit.
Y-3 arrived in the Chinese market in 2006.
While adidas and Reebok play safe with top-tier designers, Puma chooses to talent spot, working with Alexander McQueen, Yasuhiro Mihara, and later, British designer Hussein Chalayan.
In its latest collection, Puma has given its main platform to South Korean designer Bumsuk Choi.
The new Puma/Choi collection was inspired by South Korean rock band Deulgukhwa, the designer says.
"I tried to combine my bold ideas into Puma's sportswear. I used giant English letters, numbers and prints on jackets, tracksuits and running shoes, in order to express the music beats," Choi says.
The story continues and there are now rumors that Nike is eyeing a joint label with Alexander Wang - a collaboration that fashion fans are curious to see.
The gym may be the next catwalk, as far as the designers go, but it's a long way from the wasp colors that the kungfu masters used to sport.