Top Trend: Luxe Sweatsuits

With the month long marathon of fashion shows about to kick off the traveling circus of top editors, journalist, stylist, influencers….and I could go on, will be descending on New York. Quite a few of them will be racing from their flights directly to their first show. But how to make that transition from transatlantic trip to front row seat without looking disheveled and in a disarray? Not to worry, a number of leading fashion labels have a great selection of Pre-Fall 2017 luxe sweatsuit (or if you prefer- tracksuits) that are both comfortable and chic.

As activewear becomes more acceptable outside of the gym and urban inspirations are currently de rigueur with designers it has finally become acceptable to wear sweatsuits to a broad range of events. This isn’t to say that just any old sweatsuit combo from your local sports store will do the trick. It has to be designer. Meaning that it must be cut from high quality fabrics, shaped into intriguing proportions and, whenever possible,  finished off with interesting fixtures and finishings. Also a bold sporty stripe is always a nice touch.

Jonathan Simkhai

Stella McCartney

T by Alexander Wang

Three brands that went with the classic gray sweatsuit and gave it a designer update are Jonathan Simkhai, Stella McCartney, and Alexander Wang. Each one approached this tried and true gym staple in a different way but they all gave it an edgy new slant. Simkhai pushed the envelope the farthest. He sliced open the side of the legs of his suit and then laced them back up with white whipstitching, he then created a belt out of sweatshirt sleeves and finished it all of by making the top of the suit a one-shouldered affair. McCartney took the idea of comfort to heart and gave her onesie suit a loose haram pant leg and added a textural flourish at the ring pull zipper on the neckline. Wang went with a more DYI option, a cinched waistline with an funneling belt built into the layered effect top.

Bottega Veneta

Narciso Rodriguez

Sport Max

The use of color, in particular millennial pink, is another great way to smarten up sweatsuits. Bottega Veneta nailed it with its three piece proposition and the continuous wide swath of color down the tank top and slim pants at Narciso Rodriguez is both sporty and chic. While Sport Max’s use of a bold color inside the folds of its zip embellished up top and pants, makes for a design that instantly draws the eye.

Finally it’s no sweat to wear sweatsuits to the shows…or pretty much anywhere else.

Jessica Michault

Jessica Michault is the Senior Vice President of industry relations at GPS Radar by Launchmetrics. She is also the editor-at-large for ODDA magazine and contributes to publications like the New York Times, the Business of Fashion, Vogue, Harper's Bazaar and Mixte magazine.