Style expert LUIS ESPIRITU JR. names one of the biggest trends in post-pandemic fashion — and why it’s here to stay in 2021.
At this point, there’s no denying that the pandemic has proven catastrophic to the fashion industry. Big and small brands have closed. Fashion retail, for the most part, is on survival mode. Import and export are on the brink of collapse. More alarmingly, hundreds of thousands of people have lost their jobs and are now faced with the dire consequences of unemployment.
Style, in general, has also trained the spotlight on the revival and importance of the old. Vintage, upcycling, secondhand and thrift shopping have found their way into the top of the conversation. But no matter how challenging conditions may be, fashion will always find a way to survive, reinvent and revolutionize itself. Change, after all, is at the core of its nature.
The result was the rise of loungewear.
According to an article released by Vogue.com in May 2020, loungewear was suddenly catapulted to “All-Day-Wear” because of its high demand in the market. These comfortable pieces were not always considered as real clothes, but were previously relegated as comfortable pieces you only wear when you get home. They were almost considered as sleepwear, or simply left uncategorized, because they didn’t fall into any specific look.
Still, technology and accessibility played a crucial role in styling up the loungewear game, in time for the new normal. Fashion retail brands, both online and offline, are competitively coming up with contemporary loungewear that come in better styles, designs and fabrication. The list goes on.
It has become the most relevant fashion category today, vis-a-vis the most essential style piece: the face mask. New everyday clothing has also become more “conscious,” as innovation takes it beyond trends. Fashion brands now incorporate sustainability, eco-friendliness and practicality in their aesthetics. The clothes have also evolved into responsibly sourced and manufactured products, not mere eye candy.
With the realities of this pandemic, climate change and other important world matters, fast fashion has also been outdated by the lockdown. Loungewear, on the other hand, has been elevated to a wardrobe must, even in the coming year.
There’s no stopping loungewear in 2021. Fashion is gearing towards the idea of luxe lounging— perfect for dressing up online, since work from home has become geographically safe and practical. No more trendy fantasies and fairytales. No more future cyber looks or funky novelty pieces. The future of style is now all about clothes that are meant to be worn.
In times like these, being online calls for days on end; it would require lounge creations that’s all about comfort. These may range from chic separates to easy dresses. Colors, textures and contemporary silhouettes are modernizing loungewear, catapulting it into the look of the future. Fashion forward is all about the relative change in everyday wear and embracing the new concept of dressing.
To end, according to Vogue.com’s Nicole Phelps (October 2020) “ We’ve gone from dressing to look good to dressing to feel good.”
