Love or hate it, cosy or leisure wear is here to stay, thanks to working-from-home culture.
The #leisurewear has 29.7 million views on TikTok, while #cozywear has 4.8 million.
Bella Hadid has solidified the Ugg boot as a timeless staple, increasing online searches in the UK for Bella Hadid Uggs by 1,200% in the past year. While Influencer and reality TV star Molly-Mae has popularised the tracksuit, with a +400% increase in searches for Molly-Mae loungewear.
Fashion forecaster Rohina Kumar spoke with Kudd.ly and believes this trend will only continue to grow into the future, saying:
“Dressing down is now more acceptable in the office and on Zoom but, equally, this has become a trend in itself and designers and retaillers will therefore need to up their game to ensure they provide the right kind of items.”
The future is looking bright
In about 50 years, Rohina Kumar predicts that although some colours will always be popular, other, brighter trends will emerge. “Certain colours stand the test of time – like blacks, greys and browns,” she says, “But, over the last couple of decades, we’ve definitely seen a move towards more tie-dye – and this will only accelerate between now and 2073.” She accredits this to the fact that more people are opting for comfy clothes in bolder shades to wear at home and care less about what others might think.
She also explains that people will want to look as good as they feel, opting for more sustainable materials, natural fibres, soft textiles, and fabrics that are non-creasing to make that seamless transition from bed to the outside world. The concept sketch encompasses all of these features – bold colours, soft, sustainable fabrics, and a silhouette that could be easily worn while running errands.
Individualistic style over trends
(Winter Leisurewear vs Summer Leisurewear)
The future of clothes shopping habits is likely to change as well. Rohina predicts that our descendants will be designing their own clothes, which will give everyone a more individualistic style and help cut down on fast fashion, keeping clothing out of landfills.
She says that they will also be wearing more garments that are adjustable. We’re already seeing built-in zippers and internal zippers, which allow you to adjust your garments as you need to. “These will be big in cosy wear in the future,” she states.
SMART cosy wear
“Wearable tech is a big thing now,” Rohina says and goes on to share that she wouldn’t be surprised to see SMART tech making its way into cosy wear at some point in the future. Kudd.ly’s sketch shows bright and bold neon colours with the possibility of heart monitors built into clothing and a fluffy and warm heated outercoat, perfect for cosy Sunday mornings.
We already see SMART watches being used to track wellbeing so “perhaps we will see heart rate monitors built into cosy clothing too so people wouldn’t have to wear an additional piece.” She says, “There will also be a lot of temperature cooling regulating features as we see in sportswear.” Infrared sauna blankets are big at the moment, so Rohina muses that “perhaps they could be built into clothing” as well.
Safety is a big topic on many people’s minds too, so maybe we will see more reflective details, solar-powered features, or glow-in-the-dark additions to the cosy wear of the future.
Unethical & unsustainable practices are out
Gen Z is already making waves in the sustainability scene, so we can expect the following generations to carry on this trend as well. This environmentally-conscious generation will be banishing unethical practices and unsustainable materials, instead opting for natural fibres, temperature-regulating features to cope with the unpredictable weather and self-washing technology to save water.
“Cheaply produced items which aren’t eco-friendly will hopefully be a thing of the past,” says Rohina.
The design concept shows what cosy wear with these features might look like – the heart rate monitor for tracking wellbeing, bold tie-dye colours with glow-in-the-dark details, and natural fabrics in an oversized fit.
Two-in-one lounge and workwear will become the norm
The COVID-19 pandemic and the work-from-home culture that has stemmed from it have changed our ways of dressing – both at the office and at home. “Home working could be the norm for all of us, so having access to cosy wear which can double up as work attire will be all the more important,” she says. We want to be more comfortable when at home, and it has become more acceptable to dress down at the office as well. Rohina thinks that this will be the future of working from now on and that loungewear will follow suit (pun intended).
Conclusion
The future of dressing comfortably is looking good. Lots of SMART features, temperature-regulating fabrics, and the ability to custom design your outfits – all amazing features that we’re excited to see.
“The sky’s the limit in terms of what inventors and designers can come up with,” says Rohina, “I think the key thing is that the way we are living our life is constantly changing, and in 50 years’ time, the world will obviously look totally different to how it does today.”
