The Race to Capture the Exploding Market for Sweatpants
Comfy pants have become the pandemic uniform—and Gap, Nike, and Champion are battling against indie brands
Three of the most viral online stories in the last month involved the only piece of apparel that’s more in demand now than face masks: sweatpants. In mid-April, Vogue editor-in-chief and Condé Nast artistic director Anna Wintour, who is rarely seen in anything but statement designer dresses, appeared on the glossy’s Instagram in a pair of loose red track pants. Gymnast Simone Biles posted her version of the handstand challenge, but instead of putting on a T-shirt while inverted, she removed a pair of sweats. And when LA Times Style editor Adam Tschorn wrote an op-ed in which he said everyone working from home should adhere to their normal work dress code and ditch the joggers, the internet erupted in scorn at the very notion of putting on what have been dubbed “hard pants.”
Sweatpants have become the uniform of the pandemic, at least among the non-essential work-from-home set. “This is a product you’re going to live in all day, every day, and probably go to bed in. It is incredibly versatile,” says Nikki Sakelliou, vice president of marketing for five-year-old activewear brand Vuori. She was talking about the brand’s best-selling $84 women’s…
