Few could have predicted that one of the most derided sartorial mainstays of the 1980s would be a multibillion-dollar industry in its own right. Yet it appears that leggings are having the last laugh.

Having been valued at US$32.89 billion in 2022, the global leggings market is expected to reach a value of US$57.97 billion by 2031, according to analysis by market research company Growth Market Reports. Data analysis by Statista predicts that 4 billion pairs of tights and leggings will be produced in 2027. These incredible numbers highlight not only a seismic sartorial shift, but a cultural one too. This is a booming business, not thanks to fashion, but rather the unprecedented and increasing appetite for fitness apparel.

Gone are the days of sweaty, scratchy leggings that lose their elasticity in the wash; the leggings trending right now are highly engineered and made from high-tech materials. Take Vuori, the California-based brand whose workout tights retail between US$98 and US$108. Their trademark Vuori “BlissBlend” fabric has been developed using 75% recycled materials to create a super — but weightless — stretch loved by its customer base. The brand says their “BreatheInterlock” fabric meanwhile, boasts “moisture-wicking performance” and an “airbrushed second-skin finish.”

“Fabric innovation is one of our biggest priorities,” explained Sarah Carlson, Vuori’s senior vice president of women’s design, whose material innovation team works on site with its mill partners in Europe and Asia for between one and three years to realize their materials. “Our goal is to refresh how people think of and feel in performance fabrics and activewear, while prioritizing materials that honor the environment.”

German brand Hey Honey Yoga is a family-run rising star on the scene whose gym tights retail around US$120 are both OEKO-TEX certified and PETA-approved vegan.

It’s a competitive sector with a growing number of major players boasting Instagram followings in their millions including On! Running (1.4m followers); Gymshark (6.7m); Lululemon (4.7m); and, of course, Skims, (5.6m) the brainchild of Kim Kardashian who has been widely credited with the mass popularization of the body-con movement in which leggings play protagonist. Traditional sports brands are in the market, too, including Adidas, Puma and Nike.

Rewind to the 1980s and leggings as a luxury would have been a hard concept to grasp; fast forward three decades, however, they’ve proven to be a garment with legs.(SD-Agencies)

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【影响巨大的】yǐngxiǎng jùdà de seismic of enormous proportions or effect

【创意】chuàngyì brainchild a product of one's creative effort

很少人能预见到，20世纪80年代最受讥讽的时尚潮流之一会成长为数十亿美元的产业；然而紧身裤似乎笑到了最后。

根据市场研究公司Growth Market Reports的分析，2022年全球紧身裤市场价值为 328.9亿美元，预计2031年达到579.7亿美元。Statista的数据分析预测，到2027年，紧身裤和连裤袜的产量将达到40亿条。这些令人难以置信的数据不仅彰显了时尚的巨变，也体现了文化的巨变。紧身裤的蓬勃发展并不源于追求时尚，而是源自人们对健身服装前所未有、日益增长的需求。

汗渍斑斑、一洗就没弹性的紧身裤已经一去不复返了，现在流行的是高科技材料紧身裤。

以来自加利福尼亚的品牌Vuori为例，其健身紧身裤的零售价在98美元到108美元之间。该品牌标志性的BlissBlend面料采用75%的回收材料制成，超轻但具有超强弹力，深受顾客喜爱。该品牌称，他们的BreatheInterlock面料具有“吸湿排汗性能”和“柔和的第二层肌肤效果”。

Vuori负责女装设计的高级副总裁莎拉•卡尔森说：“面料创新是我们的重中之重。”她领导的材料创新团队亲临欧洲和亚洲工厂，和合作伙伴一起工作一至三年以实现材料创新。她说：“我们希望刷新人们对高性能面料和运动服装的看法和感受，优先采用环保材料。”

德国家族企业品牌Hey Honey Yoga是该领域的后起之秀，紧身健身服零售价约为120美元，获得了OEKO-TEX和 PETA环保认证。

这是一个拥挤的赛道，越来越多大公司在Instagram上拥有数百万粉丝，其中包括 On！Running（140 万粉丝）、Gymshark（670 万粉丝）、

Lululemon（470 万粉丝），当然还有 Skims（560 万粉丝）。Skims是金•卡戴珊的品牌，她引领了以紧身裤为主角的body-con潮流。阿迪达斯、彪马和耐克等传统运动品牌也加入了紧身裤市场。

时光倒流回到20世纪80年代，人们还很难接受紧身裤成为奢侈时尚；然而，30年过去了，事实证明紧身裤的潮流经久不衰。(Translated by Debra)