The equation for high fashion has always been some variation of tulle plus brocade. The most buzzed about fashion shows each and every season, fall to spring, were rich fabrics and intricate designs that would cascade to the floor and down the runway. That is, until controversial Kanye unexpectedly broke through the unbreakable high fashion border, combining athleisure wear with rips and Haute couture.
His Yeezy fall 2016 line is simple and baggy, yet somehow incredibly distinct and feminine. Yeezy came at the perfect time when athleisure wear was becoming bigger than trench coats and stilettos. Models like Kendall Jenner and Karlie Kloss started to travel in sneakers, celebrities wore gym clothes with no intention of going to the gym; athleisure became a high fashion revolution. The fashion girls of the world demanded a kind of fashion that was a simplistic, everyday, achievable kind of cool. Not the kind of achievable that just had affordable options, but the kind of achievable that could be lived in every day by real girls with real, busy lives.
After all, the best part about the athleisure trend is not just its comfort, but its accessibility to every girl, with the ability to still make it her own. To look high fashion nowadays, you don’t necessary need tulle and brocade. Instead, you could throw on some leggings and a backpack and add chic details; the easiest morning routine ever.
College girls everywhere rejoice at the answer to their fashion prayers over the decades—long struggle between high fashion and 8:00a.m. classes. Finally, there is no decision to make. You really could wake up at 7:50 and make it to class in time, looking just as high fashion as if you’d spent hours getting ready. To prove it, I really did.
However, to feel like my usually over-dressed self in a trend so casual, I had to dress up my sporty backpack and leggings with a blazer and wedges. This, I do understand, is the very juxtaposition of the athleisure wear trend. The name itself implies a combination of sportiness and leisurely comfort. However, no matter the name you give fashion, it’s not style unless it looks like you. I’ll save the sweatshirts and sneakers for Kendall and Karlie.
Get My Look: 1. Blazer. 2. Crop top. 3. Yoga leggings. 4. Black wedges. 5. Cat eye sunglasses.
