While Kim has long been a fan of the sweatpants, Anna has only just given them the Vogue seal of approval. Photos / Instagram
While Kim has long been a fan of the sweatpants, Anna has only just given them the Vogue seal of approval. Photos / Instagram
Kiwis have always had a love affair with the tracksuit - Canterbury CCC's circa 1998 anyone? But with us now spending more time in our homes than ever, sales in the comfy attire have skyrocketed.
Track pants, lovingly known as the "trackie" are no longer just for pre-match warm-ups, orfrumpy Sunday cleaning attire.
No, these cotton comrades are much much more than that in 2020. In the era of covid and lurking lockdowns, the track pant is now the height of fashion.
Even Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour has given trackies the stamp of approval, rocking a pair on Instagram and giving them a long-deserved fashionable nod.
While hers may have been $595, Moncler track pants - it was still an iconic move from the world's most powerful fashion force.
Kiwi active wear label Arby & Opal put their "joggers" and hoodies into production during the nationwide level 4 lockdown, after founder and influencer Renee Brown, struggled to find a tracksuit that met her needs while also being stylish.
After launching Brown found herself selling out within minutes and demand was significantly higher than she ever expected.
"Once we were out of lockdown the sales definitely didn't stop - each shipment I was getting in was selling within the first 15 minutes of being online. As a new local business, this is all a learning matter - how much stock do I need, what is going to sell and what isn't etc. I didn't expect it to be this crazy," she told the Herald.
Brown says her customers aren't just wearing the tracksuit at home either, pairing it instead with a sleek trench and white trainers when vacationing in Queenstown or popping out for a level 3 coffee.
Keeping up with what the customers are demanding, Arby & Opal this week added a menswear line and crew necks to their range. Clearly knowing what her stylish following and customers wanted, Brown sold out of the crew necks in an astonishing three minutes.
Arby & Opal, Ketz-ke sav pant, Bassike x Superette and Glassons. Photos / Supplied
"An element of sophistication"
Rickie Dee, owner of luxe fashion hotspot Superette, has found customers gravitating towards brands like Bassike and Superette's in-house label during lockdown, and being willing to invest in pieces that showcase chic comfort.
"Our customers have been loving easy-going sweats that strike the perfect balance between cosy and considered. It's important that there is an element of sophistication so that they aren't restricted to only wearing them at home and can easily elevate the look by throwing on a beautiful coat or blazer over the top."
Other Kiwi brands who have found sales skyrocketing on the multipurpose pants are LEO+BE and Ketz-ke.
Founder Jenny Drury shared: "Sales of track pants have gone wild on both our online store and at our 95 Kiwi stockists – so much so that we are making more of our three key styles the Sav Pant, Fold Pant and Urban Humbug Pant to keep up with demand."
"We've noticed that our customer is still after a bit of detail in their cosy look, so the styles are more elevated than a basic track pant. They need to be well cut to flatter the body and look equally chic whether they're teaming them with a well-cut blazer or a comfy sweatshirt."
Glassons also noted the high demand for track pants and matching sets, with their customer loving an elevated cosy co-ordinate this season.
While the Herald was unable to get in touch with them for a comment, Country Road also appear sold out of most sizes of track pants and hoodies and their best selling Heritage sweats are as commonplace on Instagram as fresh new takes on banana bread.
So while the late Karl Lagerfeld may have been a fashion icon of a generation, he also couldn't have possibly predicted the coronavirus pandemic when he stated: "Sweatpants are a sign of defeat. You lost control of your life so you bought some sweatpants."
Because in 2020 "sweatpants" are not a sign of defeat, they are a sign of adapting to the times, the resilience of the fashion industry, anarchy against skinny jeans and most of all, they are very, very comfy.
