How did jogging become a fashion item?
Jogging is a garment found all over the world. Originally created for purely sporting use, jogging is now extremely popular and particularly appreciated by young people, whether sporty or not. Lightweight, comfortable, and warm, its success is no surprise. This piece, made from natural materials like cotton or synthetic materials such as polyester, continues to grow in popularity. Jogging is quickly dethroning jeans as pants combining style and comfort. But many people wonder how jogging became a major fashion element. Project X Paris, a major French streetwear brand, tells you the story of this very particular and trendy fashion item.
Jogging is rich in history It may seem surprising, but jogging has 100 years of history since it was born in the 1920s. It was originally intended for top-level athletes to maximize physical performance and improve chances of breaking records. At that time, men’s jogging bottoms were not known for aesthetic features and were not used for comfort reasons, although some thought tracksuits had a certain elegance. Unlike today, the wealthy were those who used this garment since sport was an activity practiced by the elite. Sport started becoming more popular during the Interwar period, but it was especially thanks to the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games that jogging made its first major public appearance. Athletes’ supporters began wearing their outfits. So if a popular athlete wore blue jogging bottoms, their biggest fans did the same.
A garment that became affordable Thanks to advances in textiles, synthetic materials began to be massively used for men’s jogging production. Major sports brands well known today like Adidas appeared in the 1960s. Thanks to new technologies of the time, jogging became available to everyone. It was still reserved for sporting use, but with better prices and the rise in popularity of sport and fitness, it really started to take off. This is when the major cultural impact of men’s jogging began.
A true cultural symbol Jogging really started to be a fashion item between the late 1970s and early 1980s, with the growing craze for sportswear, defined as a fashion trend where sports clothes are worn daily. Its cultural success is also linked to musical currents like hip-hop in the 1980s and rap in the 1990s. For artists, men’s jogging bottoms became a tool of protest and defiance, inspiring many young people to wear them.
Today, jogging is inevitable and the Internet has only accelerated its rise in popularity along with other media and celebrities. It is often found both among men and women. It is also important to note that lockdowns favored its use due to comfort and accessibility.
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