The Rise and Fall of Leggings: A Fashion Tale

The Glory Days of Leggings

The humble legging, once the champion of casual fashion, appears to be experiencing its twilight era. With Lululemon’s recent layoff of 150 employees and sales figures plummeting across the industry, fashion insiders have begun to sound the death knell for this stretchy wardrobe staple. The shift is perhaps most brutally summarized by Sky Ting yoga company owner Krissy Jones, who bluntly informed a 37-year-old friend: “We’re not wearing leggings anymore.” The sentiment has been echoed across fashion publications, with The Guardian, The Business of Fashion, and retail analyst group Edited all declaring the legging’s reign officially over. Major sportswear brands including Nike, Adidas, and Fabletics have reduced their legging options by more than 50 percent, signaling a dramatic shift in the activewear landscape. While many of us may still be comfortably ensconced in our trusty leggings at this very moment, the fashion-forward have moved on, relegating the once-beloved garment to the same outdated category as skinny jeans and ankle socks.

From Gym to Everywhere

The legging’s dominance spans nearly two decades, dating back to around 2005 when they first ventured beyond the confines of gyms and yoga studios to become acceptable everyday attire. Their rise to fashion prominence coincided with the early days of the Obama era, marking a significant shift in casual fashion. By 2007, Lululemon’s stock market debut generated a staggering $450 million in a single day, cementing the legging’s status as a fashion phenomenon. Traditional structured pants manufacturers felt the impact, with Levi’s CEO admitting in 2013 that the industry was “scrambling” in response to what Bloomberg termed an “epochal threat” to conventional denim. The legging’s cultural saturation reached such heights that by 2015, it inspired viral parodies like Skitbox’s “Activewear” video, which hilariously captured the absurdity of wearing “activewear” for decidedly non-active pursuits like being hungover. By late 2019, just before the pandemic would further entrench stay-at-home comfort wear, Vogue had crowned leggings as “the look of our time,” seemingly securing their place in fashion history.

The Cyclical Nature of Fashion

Fashion’s pendulum inevitably swings, and leggings are no exception to this rule. Today’s rejection of leggings appears driven partly by generational rebellion, with Gen Z purposefully distancing themselves from millennial fashion choices. This nostalgic pull toward ’90s and early 2000s aesthetics represents the natural progression of younger generations defining themselves in opposition to their predecessors. Fashion’s cyclical nature has always existed, though social media has dramatically accelerated the pace at which trends rise and fall. However, this particular fashion shift seems to signify something deeper than mere trend fatigue. Leggings became more than clothing; they represented an entire lifestyle ideology rooted in Instagram-friendly wellness culture. They symbolized a commitment to self-care, green juices, and yoga poses – all carefully documented for social media consumption. Gen Z appears less interested in such performative wellness, suggesting a fundamental shift in values and self-presentation.

Leggings as a Feminist Issue

The rejection of leggings by younger generations may represent an important feminist statement. Just as debates about body size and acceptance dominated feminist discourse in the ’90s, today’s fashion choices reflect evolving attitudes toward the female body and its presentation. Gen Z’s move away from form-fitting leggings signals a declining interest in clothing that puts women’s bodies on such explicit display. By embracing looser silhouettes and prioritizing comfort over constriction, younger women are effectively challenging the male gaze that has historically shaped women’s fashion. The rise of versatile, comfortable garments like the nap dress – designed to transition seamlessly between lounging, sleeping, and socializing – demonstrates a prioritization of personal comfort over external expectations. This shift suggests Gen Z is actively rejecting the “bikini body” mentality that plagued previous generations, choosing instead to dress for themselves rather than for outside approval.

The Refusal to Conform

Gen Z’s abandonment of leggings also reflects a broader rejection of fashion conformity. As Marsha Lindsay, founder of London’s Nobu pilates, noted in Vogue Business: “Millennials were still shaped by the ‘beauty is pain’ mentality — inherited rules about how to dress and for what occasion.” By contrast, Gen Z has developed within a more inclusive cultural environment that celebrates individuality over uniformity. Their fashion choices prioritize personal confidence and self-expression rather than adherence to predetermined dress codes. This generational shift explains why young consumers are increasingly drawn to what fashion insiders have dubbed the “BWP” – big workout pant. These relaxed, hip-hugging styles evoke the baggy aesthetic popularized by ’90s icons like Salt-N-Pepa, representing a deliberate move away from the constrictive nature of leggings. Pinterest reports a remarkable 400 percent increase in searches for “baggy gym outfits” among 18-24-year-olds, while industry data shows a 50 percent jump in searches for terms like “boxy” and “loose” within the past year.

The New Comfort Revolution

As leggings fade from fashion prominence, they leave behind important lessons about the evolving relationship between clothing, comfort, and identity. The garment that once revolutionized casual wear by blending athletic functionality with everyday style has now become emblematic of an outdated approach to fashion and self-presentation. In their place rises a new comfort revolution that prioritizes ease of movement without body-conscious constriction. This shift represents more than just changing hemlines or silhouettes; it reflects a fundamental reconsideration of how we want to feel in our clothes and the messages we wish to communicate through our style choices. The BWP and other loose-fitting alternatives embody a liberation from previous generations’ fashion constraints, signaling that today’s young consumers value authentic self-expression over externally imposed standards of presentation. While leggings may continue to exist in our wardrobes for practical purposes, their cultural significance has diminished as new generations redefine the boundaries between activewear and everyday fashion. As we witness this transition, we’re reminded that clothing is never just clothing – it’s a powerful reflection of our evolving social values and personal priorities.