This runway respite might not be enough. To stop athleisure from being pushed back into the gym changing room,Paul Burdekin,chief executive of The Upside,says that products need to find their fashion footing. This requires a step away from stretchy leggings into more structured styles.
“I think athleisure has had a very up and down consumer moment,” Burdekin says. “We are seeing consistent sales with our customers in the stretch category of tights and tops,but there is much faster growth in the lifestyle category.”
The label founded by Jodhi Meares in 2013 has expanded its collection of jackets,knitwear and pants.
“The response has been positive and we are happy with how business is progressing,” Burdekin says. “But this is still a head-down,bum-up environment.”
Heads are down at the parent company of Aje Athletica. This week,20 people were let go from executive positions at the Aje head office.
“We have made the difficult decision to reduce roles at head office and remove a number of positions no longer deemed vital within our business,” Aje chief executive and co-founder Adrian Norris said in a statement. The decision followed a review prompted by the “current trading environment”.