Why is it that some of the most attractive clothing brands have been athleisure ones for the past decade? Most individuals’ initial response would be that with exercise being a regular activity, people need specific clothing for it and are thereby willing to adjust their purchasing habits to reflect that. But this doesn’t explain why athleisure is so commonly worn outside of a workout environment and why this sector has grown by almost half over just the last several years. Apparel brands like Alo, CSB, Adanola, Vuori and others have been winning over customers by marketing themselves as aspirational wellness products, rather than just comfortable pieces of clothing. 

Alo’s marketing strategy demonstrates this best. The brand engages in strategic endorsements with individuals of high social followings who are known for prioritizing their well-being above all else. This includes models such as Candace Swanepoel and Frida Aasen who regularly share their workout routines as well as other wellness-lifestyle content along with other macro influencers who generally promote products from other wellness-oriented brands, such as Lemme, Cymbiotika, Cowboy Colostrum, and more. Alo has even launched an online wellness club where these individuals lead workout classes, and has established its own gym in Beverly Hills (that is by invitation only) which has indirectly turned into a content studio for promoting the brand. What’s interesting about Alo is how stellar of a job they do at constantly reinforcing their brand identity through strategic partnerships and in-person events. It has the result of making their consumer feel as though they are becoming more of a certain kind individual, the one which they aspire to be, when they buy into the brand. Having a piece of clothing from Alo is like having a reminder of who you want to embody and what you want to work towards when you get dressed in the morning. 

Due to the success of brands like Alo and Lululemon, many similar athleisure companies have emerged in the past several years, a good amount of which have no real point of differentiation. Two examples are Adanola and Vuori. I think some of the success of these brands can be attributed to the fact that they started to gain popularity during a time when interest in Lululemon started to decline. While consumers retained their demand for athleisure wellness items, they started to turn towards brands that did a better job of representing aspirational wellness, which Lululemon got consistently worse at over the last few years. For Adanola and Vuori, similar to Alo, their marketing strategies and endorsements are what’s put them on the map. They used a similar approach to Alo, hiring Kendall Jenner and Kaia Gerber respectively to promote their products in order to attract the type of consumer who they are trying to align their brand with.

Even for brands outside of apparel, a similar strategy can be used to win over the increasing number of health-conscious consumers. I find that as we will begin to see an increasing emergence in health technology, such as what we are currently seeing with Therabody and Ouraring, consumers will be more and more on the lookout for accessible luxuries that actually deliver effective results in the wellness space.