A summer defined by loosened travel restrictions and the gradual reopening of economies, especially in Europe, has seen a shift in purchase of various product categories.
While holiday apparel appeared to have been less popular than anticipated, growth in casualwear and activewear continue to fuel consumer buying, with comfort being a key driver.
We highlight the five popular and equally well performing product categories that consumers are buying to aid you in planning your upcoming assortments, with insights from Edited and the recent runway presentations.
Read on to discover.
Denim 2.0
In the coming season, consumers are reluctant to give up on comfort and may still be inclined towards wearing sweatpants, dressing for Work From Home with a comfy-on-bottom vibe, but an increase in denim and jeans points towards a shift from loungewear to casualwear.
In Q2 of 2021, online retailers observed a 60 per cent rise in new denim styles with sell-through increasing by 15 per cent year-on-year.
In terms of silhouettes, a loser silhouette is trending, which generally includes a wider leg, as well as low waist bottom styles. Vintage blue treatments and knee rips were prevalent and will remain a dominating theme in denim’s future, with acid washes appearing both on the A/W ’21 women’s runway and the recent men’s Spring/Summer presentations.
Elevated loungewear
Hoodies, sweatpants, jerseys and knitwear all saw breakout sales in Q2, but this success should not be confused with the popularity of the lounge pants seen at the onset of the pandemic in Q2 of 2020.
Elevated styles which can be worn outside of the home, such as cuffed joggers, cardigans and smart crew neck sweaters performed well for fall assortments. In knitwear, trans-seasonal items and mix and match layering are strong performers across the board.
Activewear
Sport bras, leggings, shorts and all things knit, remain at the top of the sales pyramid, where activewear is positioned as one of the fastest rising product categories.
In menswear particularly, sales of hoodies in the UK and US went up by 41 per cent and those of sweatshirts recorded a 29 per cent hike as compared to the same period in the year prior.
Searches for ‘sports’ and ‘exercise’ continue to fuel activewear, as does demand for ‘at home’ fashion.
Polo’s and preppy dressing
A staple within preppy dressing, polo shirts saw an 18 per cent lift in investment as retailers assorted it for complimentary trends like golfcore and tenniscore.
Compared to Q2 of 2020, investment in checks nearly tripled in skirts, blazers and matching sets this season.
Lifestyle updates
Lifestyles are continuously evolving, which is one of the reasons why sleepwear continues to perform so well even after restrictions are lifted.
Categories such as well-being are quickly evolving with new possibilities in sleep accessories and branching out into lifestyle categories, such as homeware.
The global sleepwear and loungewear markets are predicted to flourish and see a growth of US $ 19.5 billion between 2020-2024. Items such as hoodies, tees and co-ord sets were ever-present in designer’s collections on the recent runway presentations.
