By Lieba Nesis
As an increasing amount of the population turns to sweatpants and ice cream during these difficult times, the question becomes as to whether these trends will continue after the quarantine ends. The world reacted with utter shock when Vogue editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour posted a photo on her April Instagram wearing red sweatpants-a woman who had never been photographed in pants let alone the pajama variety. What was even more astounding was she paired it with a red and black striped sweater-the ultimate fashion faux pas of mixing discordant fabrics. Fashion stars Bella Hadid, Emily Ratajkowski, Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber have similarly donned the exploding sweatpants trend.
Wearing high-low fashion has been ubiquitous for decades, beginning with Sharon Stone who attended the 1996 Oscars in a much heralded Gap shirt. Kim Kardashian, Rihanna, and dozens of other style stars, have since worn bike shorts, leggings and exercise pants to formal events. However, with the recent pandemic confining billions to their homes, the thought of wearing anything other than sloppy slacks seems unimaginable. Even Lebanon, a country renowned for its meticulous attention to attire, has its blasphemous population turning to Americanized staples such as sweatpants, pajamas and slippers for supermarket trips. Athleisurewear sales have surged as the lockdown continues indefinitely with companies reporting sellouts from sweatpants up 79% in mass US retailers from February to April. The outlook for luxury spending appears bleaker than ever as China remains the only country that has recovered sufficiently to resume “revenge spending.” The Chinese, who used to conduct most of their shopping in Paris or the US, have for the first time confined their spending domestically due to the global shutdown. Despite a decline of 20.5% in China’s retail sales for the first two months of 2020, luxury brand LVMH, which owns Louis Vuitton, Dior and Fendi, saw growth of over 50% in mainland China with its larger brands (while experiencing an expected overall decline of 17%). Luxury analyst Erwan Rambourg, noted that bigger brands will exit the crisis with a major advantage due to pent-up demand with customers deciding to “buy less but better.”
However, whether consumers decide to spend big in the United States as the level of unemployment skyrockets to 14.7 percent remains to be seen. It is likely there will be two dominant trends; people purchasing lavish attire after being cooped up in the house for months, with others flouting fancy dress codes after acclimating to sweats and sneakers. With demand exploding stores such as Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdales have been offering men Versace and Burberry sweats for over $550.
The outrageousness of these price points becomes more readily apparent when examining the history of this formerly overlooked garment. During the 1920’s ,Emile Camuset, the founder of Le Coq Sportif, introduced grey jersey pants to allow athletes to stretch and run comfortably. Initially confined to athletics or the home, many establishments such as nightclubs and German cafes prohibited sweatpants during the 1980’s-concerned the slovenliness of the garment risked diminishing the sophistication of an establishment.
I am of the mindset that society will revert to elegant attire to rid itself of the nightmarish memories of stay-at-home orders. I can remember being told to dress down years ago by a prospective beau. When I appeared in sweatpants and a t-shirt his frown was readily apparent. “I said casual,” he remarked, “but sweatpants were out of the equation.” Perhaps, this sexless garment is not the panacea our generation has hyped it to be.
