Fashion goes sport at ISPO Munich: How the dream team evolves

• Here to stay: Sports meets Fashion
• Sustainability aspect: versatile collections against overconsumption
• Collaborations: Does more fashion damage credibility?
• Retail is also adapting
• Conclusion: The most important key learnings for the sports industry

Sports and fashion have long been a dream team. Both have been influencing each other for more than a century, learning from each other and becoming an almost inexhaustible source of innovation and new trends. The boundaries between the two are constantly shifting, for consumers as well as for collections and retail. Last December, ISPO Munich once again provided its visitors with many new ideas and inspiring insights into the various opportunities and possibilities that this fusion offers brands and retailers.

From athleisure to gorpcore, tenniscore, balletcore and the cutting-edge blokecore, fashion loves these eye-catching, sports-inspired looks that quickly spread via social media. Blokecore, with its soccer-inspired outfits, has made it from viral social media trend to the top fashion rankings by 2024, the year of the European Championship. But sports-inspired looks in fashion are much more than a short-term fad: "Interest in active lifestyles is on the rise, and this also means that the functionality of fashion is becoming more important," said Enrico Pizzolato, shoe designer and product manager at Italian shoe manufacturer Dolomite, during a panel discussion at ISPO 520M by Highsnobiety. This means that the target group for sports collections is growing and the demands are changing. "Sports and outdoor brands have to find a balance between style and function.

The fusion of sport and fashion also makes sense from a sustainability perspective: "Clothing has to be versatile," says Miki West, founder of yoga label Studio K, which presented itself for the first time at the fair in the Zeitgeist Area. The designer pays attention to sustainable materials in her collections and moves effortlessly between streetwear and yoga wear. A similar design concept is followed by US yoga label Fabletics, which also made its debut at ISPO Munich. "Our motto has always been 'From Gym to Fashion'," says Daniel Klarkowski, VP Brand Marketing Fabletics Europe. Fabletics originated in California and is inextricably linked to the rapid rise of the athleisure trend about a decade ago. "At first I couldn't imagine leggings being worn everywhere in Europe, but once I saw the trend in California, it didn't take long for the look to be everywhere. 

Thanks to athleisure, yoga clothing has seen strong growth in recent years, with brands such as Fabletics and Lululemon, as well as Nike and Adidas. According to a recent report by market research firm Technavio, the global yoga clothing market is expected to grow by a further 21 billion US dollars (around 20 billion euros) between 2025 and 2029. With a projected annual growth rate of 7.7 percent, the sector is benefiting from the increasing demand for high-performance, technology-based clothing, according to the study.

However, the move from the sports industry towards fashion and the development of more fashionable collections is also a threat to brands that have grown through functionality and a focus on their core target group. "It is important for a brand to stay true to what it is, otherwise it can easily lose credibility with its core audience," says Jeroen Meijer, senior marketing manager at Keen. "We have to accept that more and more people are interested in outdoor activities today, and that this creates a new dynamic." He is alluding to the fact that the gorpcore trend of recent years has created a new generation of customers who use and show off outdoor products outside of traditional environments, and who also have different demands. In retrospect, this balancing act has not always served brands well. "The fusion of fashion and outdoor is here to stay," is Meijer nevertheless convinced, "and brands need to respond."

Italian outdoor footwear brand Dolomite is more open to the idea, perhaps because design is so important in Italy. "People know who Dolomite is and what Dolomite stands for, which is functionality. That's why we have the freedom to try something new without losing our credibility," says Dolomite's Enrico Pizzolato. 

Collaborations between strong fashion and sports brands are therefore an increasingly popular solution to minimize the risk of losing credibility. "In the end, it's a good deal for both sides. Both are able to reach new market segments that they couldn't reach before. And that's why I believe that collaborations between fashion and sports brands have a great future," says David Fischer, CEO and founder of Highsnobiety. 

By the way, how well brands manage to strike a balance between sports and fashion could also be seen on the ISPO Award area. Here, various brands presented forward-looking solutions for combining fashion, sports, and sustainability.

It is interesting to note that Scandinavian brands in particular, with their typically minimalist aesthetics, are doing a good job of bridging the gap between sports and fashion. “In Scandinavia, people don't make such a big distinction between casual wear and work clothes,” says Eystein Wang, CEO of the outerwear label Scandinavian Edition, who presented his new collection at the Zeitgeist Area of ISPO Munich. His recipe for success is to enhance and modernize classic styles with functional elements. He sells exclusively in fashion retail stores. “It's hard for a brand to be distributed in both channels,” says Wang. 

Yoga label Studio K, on the other hand, uses a variety of distribution channels, from its own monobrand stores in Bali to yoga studios and sustainable concept stores. "Sports collections like ours are definitely in demand in fashion stores," says Studio K's Miki West.

Fabletics has just launched a retail push in Europe - hence its presence at ISPO in Munich. The brand, which has been active in Europe since 2014, has previously only sold online through direct sales channels in Europe. Despite good growth, the EU market accounts for just under ten percent of total sales. Now, Fabletics is looking to connect with brick-and-mortar retailers and wholesalers to continue growing. "We see a lot of potential in working with retailers and wholesalers," says Daniel Klarkowski of Fabletics. The plan is for the new channels to account for 10 to 15 percent of sales in the future. With fashionable, sporty collections and brand ambassadors like Kate Hudson, Khloe Kardashian and actor Kevin Hart, Fabletics has a lot to offer retailers. 

Ultimately, the convergence of sports and fashion also offers retailers new opportunities to position themselves and find an attractive niche. "I believe this convergence is happening on both sides," says Thomas Neuviale, founder of Fasunaa.com, an online store specializing in urban outdoor collections. "Fashion stores as well as sports and outdoor stores are becoming more open to fashionable outdoor brands."