Athflow – The new fashion trend for body and soul

Find out everything you need to know about the
clothing style dedicated entirely to wellbeing.

by mey 01.03.2023

Athflow – what is it?

Not every trend radically and uncompromisingly breaks away from the ideas and maxims of the one before it. Occasionally, a new trend takes a familiar concept and develops it further.

Athflow is an example of one such trend: the stylish look combines comfy and cosy outfits of athleisure fashion with a certain degree of elegance.

In this regard, athflow is a highly sustainable trend, as you can just keep wearing your favourite cosy pieces. Yoga pants and bustiers, leggings and joggers, sweatshirts, hoodies and sneakers are combined with little touches of elegance to create a statement outfit that is streetwear and office-friendly while being supremely comfortable.

By the way, that is where the “flow” suffix comes from: it represents the soft “flow” of the clothing around your body.

A short digression on its origins: Where does athflow come from?

When the pandemic forced lots of people to work from home in 2020, there was a huge surge towards joggers, hoodies, leggings and sweatshirts.

If you have to work from home, you should at least be comfortable. Gradually, however, the casual clothing also claimed its rightful place in the working world: many employees now showed up in sneakers and yoga pants for brief visits to the office.

This trend was at least tolerated in even the most conservative sectors. The athleisure style was born. This neologism combines the words “athletic” and “leisure wear”. Athleisure became synonymous with practical everyday outfits.

However, it didn’t even take a full year for home workers to tire of the all-consuming casual trend. Both men and women want to feel more “well-dressed” from time to time – without compromising on comfort.

As a result, the casual look was given a stylish upgrade. Athleisure was mixed with a good portion of elegance and chic, without losing sight of its comfortable roots: the result is athflow – chic and comfortable outfits that are just as well-suited to the home office as a business meeting. They don’t look like sportswear, but feel just as comfortable.

High-quality materials like cotton, knit,
cashmere, velvet and satin are typical of the
casual yet elegant trend.

Stretchy materials and roomy fits: Athflow in detail

Generally, you can still use your favourite pieces as basics for the athflow style – provided your yoga pants are not baggy, washed out or heavily pilled. High-quality materials like cotton, knit, cashmere, velvet and satin are typical of the casual yet elegant trend. Jeans are also part and parcel of the look, if they have a wide cut.

The most distinctive features and elements include:

wide-cut trousers, preferably in flowing materials,
super comfy jeans,
wellness and yoga pants,
elastic waistbands, rather than zips and buttons,
sweatshirts and hoodies,
cosy knitwear, especially in oversized cuts,
loose-fitting T-shirts and blouses,
ribbed tops and
bustiers instead of underwired bras.

Blazers in extra soft materials such as jersey, long blazers of every style, trench coats and oversized coats round off athflow outfits. When it comes to footwear, sneakers, slippers and boots are the way to go.

The rise of sweatpants: Karl Lagerfeld was wrong

Karl Lagerfeld famously said: “Sweatpants are a sign of defeat. You lost control of your life, so you bought some sweatpants.” Karl would have a lot to learn from the athflow trend, if he were still with us.

Your favourite dress in the athleisure style also works with the athflow look – with the right contrasts and tasteful styling. In a tone-on-tone look with a long blazer and matching sneakers, it can be styled into an eye-catching outfit. Or, select a high-quality leather jacket and boots for a rockstar look. Alternatively, create a hip-hop version with a bomber jacket and metallic sneakers.

Joggers have a little competition from the (once again) trendy trackpants – an upgrade of the original variant in different materials. They don’t have to have the obligatory side stripes, but always a comfy drawstring waistband. The updated joggers can be combined with a sweatshirt or hoodie for a sporty look, a silk top and heels for a party look, or a blouse and casual blazer for a business look.

The brand soulwear by mey combines all
these benefits – so come and discover our
versatile athflow trend pieces!

Good for body and soul: The second origin of athflow

As a trend, athflow also has a second origin that is less obvious, but no less important. In recent years, more and more people have discovered and recognised the positive effects of yoga and meditation. This once-niche segment has grown into a respectable industry.

And not without reason: yoga brings the soul and body back into balance, is both relaxing and energising, helps with stress-related ailments, can reduce pain, and much more. It preventatively leads to a calmer, more balanced and often healthier lifestyle.

Yoga clothing must be easy to move in, without being so baggy that slips out of place. A buster lends itself to many of the exercises better than a classic underwired bra. Yoga pants should also be opaque under strain. The slightly higher waistband on yoga pants provides support, without constricting.

This makes yoga wear highly functional yet comfortable. As a result, it has effortlessly made the jump into the streetwear department and the athflow trend.

The stylish trousers, leggings, pants and bustiers not only function as sportswear; they are also tasteful all-round items of clothing with which to express your identity – combined with chic accessories and layers. The brand soulwear by mey combines all these benefits – so come and discover our versatile athflow trend pieces!

The biggest different between athflow pieces, which tend to have their roots in yoga or the gym, and home-office-oriented casualwear pieces is that the athflow trend often favours a closer fit. This means the materials are highly elastic.

Speaking of materials: when it comes to yoga wear, many of the products are sustainably manufactured. Many manufacturers attach great importance to fair production and comprehensive environmental protection. The avoidance of chemical ingredients can be felt on your skin. See for yourself with our sustainable clothing!

Athflow in concrete terms: Style-accentuating combos

There is no “instruction manual” on how to dress in the athflow style. This individual freedom is yet another plus point of the comfortable fashion trend. The following examples are just loose suggestions:

A wide-fitting long blazer dresses up any pair of trousers, whether it’s a pair of joggers, leggings, or wide-leg fabric trousers with a comfortable elastic waistband. Sneakers are the best choice of footwear.
A cosy oversized knitted jumper with flared trousers always cuts a good figure. You can also pair it with boots.
XXL coats are the perfect accent for a tight pair of leggings or yoga pants. Sneakers or boots each give the outfit a different slant.
Hoodies or plain sweatshirts in XXL with wide-leg trousers in soft fabrics create an oversized yet stylish silhouette.
A cable-knit cashmere sweater with joggers is a playful understatement.
Tone-on-tone combos with a monochrome splash of colour exude confident style.

Less is more: Athflow is (almost) accessory-free

It’s in the nature of the elegant yet sporty style that it barely calls or any accessories or jewellery. However, you can use a select few delicate accessories to accentuate the elegant components.

It remains open for debate whether the modern revival of pearls has to do with athflow, or stems from completely different reasons – in any case, they have shaken off their antiquated, stuffy image. Combined with subtle, modern elements, pearls go exceptionally well with oversized knits and light-coloured hoodies.

The trend towards comfortably (over)sized clothing has also fuelled the rapid rise in popularity of the clutch bag. This traditionally small bag for going out has taken the streetwear and businesswear segment by storm in an oversized version. In real or synthetic leather, often made of recycled plastic fibres, the new version can comfortably hold two document folders. This makes it perfect for a flying visit to the office or a business meeting.

FAQs

What does athflow mean?

Athflow is a fashion style that combines comfy, cosy outfits with a good portion of chic and elegance. The result is an exceptionally comfortable look, that nonetheless never looks purely like casualwear.

The term is a combination of “athletic” and “flow”, which refers to the comfortable feel of the soft clothing on your body.

Athflow combines joggers, leggings, wellness and yoga pants, sweatshirts and hoodies with chic long blazers, oversized coats or high-quality cashmere knit into an individual, stylish statement.

Do I need a certain figure to wear athflow?

No, absolutely not. What’s great about athflow is that it aims for maximum comfort with a soft, loose-fitting silhouette. In other words: oversized models and wide-fitting trousers with elasticated waistbands can easily be used to conceal little problem areas.

The only rule: yoga wear and gym wear, which is also included in the athflow trend and tends to have a closer fit, is probably not best suited to hiding your figure in an elegant streetwear or business outfit.

How long will the athflow trend last?

For once, sociologists and fashion experts agree: athflow is here to stay. This is not least to do with the fact that athflow is all about highly comfortable, feel-good fashion.

But it also has to do with the fact that in the time since the pandemic and the associated rise in working from home, strict business dress codes have been largely dismantled. In many cases, permanently.