The Case for Athletic-Inspired Evening Wear

Gowns in the resort collections from Miu Miu and Valentino feature zippers and drawstrings in fabrics more commonly seen at the gym, making formalwear a lot more wearable. In an Olympic year, designers seem intent on incorporating athletic elements into the most sophisticated evening looks. Separates play the game, too, with pleated track skirts and elegant puff-sleeved sweatshirts that marry form and function. Touches like racing stripes and contrast piping abound. Put away your guipure lace and velvet; it’s time for French terry and candy-colored stretch polyesters that look like silk but feel like yoga gear.

“Sounds a lot like that ridiculous athleisure trend,” you might be saying, vaguely recalling model-about-town Gigi Hadid making unlikely headlines in spandex circa 2016. (See “A Brief History of Athleisure,” below.) Despite some overlaps, the word “athleisure”—once buzzy, now short on fashion cred—doesn’t do justice to such opulent ensembles. These legitimately dressed-up looks could be worn, if not to the Oscars, to the Independent Spirit Awards, and nowhere near the Los Feliz Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.

What they share with athleisure is a heightened expectation of comfort and range of motion. “Women want to be comfortable, but they don’t want to sacrifice style,” said Jennifer Bandier, whose eponymous chain of boutiques sells high-end fitness fashion from around the world. “I think designers are listening to women.” That extends well beyond the gym.

Sporty elegance has a distinguished history. In the 1920s, Coco Chanel, a tennis enthusiast, pioneered the idea of cutting swish cocktail looks from athletic textiles like jersey knits. Emilio Pucci—a member of the Italian ski team at the 1932 Winter Olympics—got his start making skiwear before applying his knack with stretch fabrics to mod mini-dresses worn by the jet set. In 1967, Geoffrey Beene went the distance with his floor-length sequined football jersey, a look Tom Ford reprised and abbreviated in 2014 (worn by Beyoncé, who needs her formal wear to work as hard as she does).

The latest round of cross-pollination is part of a larger shift in fashion toward versatility. “As times changed from the ’60s into the ’80s, you did not wear different things for different times of day any more,” said

Kevin Jones,

curator of the coming show “Outdoor Girls: Sporting Fashion, 1800-1960” at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising Museum in Los Angeles. “People were going from the office to the opera and couldn’t just run home and change. It really became accessories that defined what the ensemble was supposed to be.” The spandex-and-leg warmers aesthetic of 1980s workout wear translated into body-conscious dresses by Hervé Léger and Azzedine Alaïa. In the 1990s, former figure skater Vera Wang popularized stretch illusion netting for bridal and evening wear.

Now, that versatility is manifesting in dressy looks that behave like dressed-down looks, evening clothes relevant for a generation that dons pajamas on airplanes. Valentino’s resort collection channeled the unconstraining quality of hip-hop style—as seen in Baz Luhrmann’s funktastic Netflix series “The Get Down.” The brand’s creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli took zip-front track dresses in technical jersey and garnished them with lace and embroidery. Perhaps to prove these pretty party clothes could perform, the ad campaign captured models shooting baskets on an outdoor court. “I think there’s a dignity in the street and in sports,” said Mr. Piccioli. “These pieces are really strong. They express the culture of the moment: couture that meets street. It’s more interesting to me not to be distant.”

Layering athletic-influenced garb with more classic evening pieces is one way in to this trend. At Louis Vuitton, Nicolas Ghesquière piled lace tunic-dresses over tees and stretchy metallic leggings, evoking both Jane Fonda’s workout looks and David Bowie’s jumpsuits—whose designer, Kansai Yamamoto, was cited as a major influence. If you have a beloved little black dress that’s a touch too short, take a cue from Vuitton and try it over chic leather leggings like those made by Wolford (please, not your

Lululemon

s).

This hybridization also nicely resolves the modern evening-wear quandary of what to wear over a dress when it’s cold out. Unlike our mothers, most women no longer have formal outerwear options, but day coats can look awkward with dresses. A new idea: the fancy windbreaker. Giambattista Valli showed balloon-sleeve polyester parkas that could be worn zipped over delicate cotton lace slip dresses or, on balmier nights, tied rakishly around the waist. Marni creative director Francesco Risso played with volume and scale, presenting calf-length anoraks in vibrant nylon over printed dresses.

The whole point is ease. If you’re a rookie looking to go varsity with your evening wear, start with simple shapes. Elizabeth von der Goltz, Global Buying Director at Net-a-Porter, suggests an elevated version of a familiar piece: “The bomber jacket is almost considered a classic now and can be more elegant in fabrics like velvet or silk.” Accessories remain key to taking sporty styles from day to night; ditch your designer sneakers and don ankle socks with strappy heels, as on the Valentino runway. And don’t forget something sparkly, whether sequins or Harry Winston diamonds. As Mr. Piccioli said, if you want to play with this trend, sometimes “you have to break the rules.”

A Brief History of ‘Athleisure’

Although the term was first used by Nation’s Business magazine in 1979, “athleisure” only blasted off into the trend stratosphere in a post-Lululemon world. Here, its arc:

October, 2014

Spandex Nation

Nike CEO

Mark Parker

says that “leggings are the new denim.”

December, 2014

Actively Activated

Blogger Chase Rosen of “Athleisurely” tells Marie Claire, “Active people with active lifestyles want to actively look his or her very best, and that’s where athleisure comes in.”

April/May, 2015

Ups and Downs

The Wall Street Journal publishes articles on, respectively, athleisure’s ”peak,” and the fall of Americans’ activity level to the lowest point in years.

March, 2016

Celebrity Trainers

Beyoncé launches Ivy Park, a brand “made for women who want to look and feel at the top of their game.” See also: Kate Hudson (Fabletics!), Rihanna (Fenty X Puma).

April, 2016

Anna Wintour Disses ‘Athleisure’

“That’s such a difficult word,” she tells the “Today” show.

May, 2016

Queen Hadid

Gigi Hadid wears leggings and a crop top on a dinner date, the first in a series of breathlessly chronicled stretchy outfits (Teen Vogue listed “5 Times Gigi Hadid Won the Athleisure Game”).

March, 2017

Leggingsgate

United Airlines bans two teens from wearing leggings on a plane, and a debate rages online that threatens athleisure’s validity as clothing.

June, 2017

The Abyss Beckons

With over 900 brands in the athleisure market selling everything from skorts to kids’ leggings, WWD warns brands not to enter “the ath-leisure abyss.”

December, 2017

Peaked

According to management consultancy McKinsey’s “State of Fashion 2018,” “Athletic wear is the only category where record growth rates look to slow down slightly in 2018, as the athleisure trend has reached its peak in some mature markets.” Fashion defiantly creates sporty evening wear.