WIT Fitness founder on rise of training as a sport, ‘athleisure’ and wearing workout clothes all day
- Dan Williams says the merging of sport, fitness and fashion is now complete as training has become an identity
- Williams, who just signed a deal with the sport of CrossFit, says fitness apparel has entered the mainstream
Dan Williams, the founder of WIT Fitness, a London-based sportswear retailer, said sometime in the past five years, a massive intersection was crossed between sport and fashion.
“At some point it became acceptable to wear what you wore to the gym, outside of the gym, and all day,” said Williams, who just signed a partnership with CrossFit to sell branded gear to the masses. “This started with women and now it has become acceptable for the male consumer as well.”
The wave of “athleisure” seems to have no peak, as training apparel continues to rapidly expand across the world. The term, first coined by Lululemon founder Chip Wilson in the early 2000s, now encompasses an entire identity where people wear workout clothes to run errands and socialise in.
The industry has become so big, market analysts are failing to encapsulate it all into one term. There’s “activewear”, “fitness apparel”, “workout clothes”, all encompassing a range of items that include shorts, T-shirts, pants, shoes and various accessories. Allied Market Research estimates the “sport apparel market” will grow to US$248 billion in size by 2026, which would put it in the same financial league as high-end fashion.
Williams said there is an anecdotal way to sum up what has been happening.
