Commuter Shirt and Chinos by Rhode \ Image Courtesy: BusinessInsider

DTC activewear brand Rhone placed an emphasis on its ‘commuter’ line, which includes products like chinos and button-down shirts made with the performance material used for loungewear. The brand also observed a 31 per cent hike in sales of its commuter line, since the vaccination drives have begun. Lifestyle products have escalated to make up 60 per cent of the brand’s sales, outrunning the activewear section.

Erin Schmidt at Coresight Research discusses how these numbers highlight the diminished definition of workwear, and its reinvention by the consumer market. With the ever-rising demand for new styles and sizes, apparel sales have been in a consistent ascent. Sale shares for formalwear in the US apparel market have dropped to 24.8 per cent in 2020 from 31.5 per cent in 2019, whereas casualwear sales have ricocheted in the market. Coresight and Euromonitor expect the casualwear sector to dominate the total apparel expenditure for the remainder of 2021 and into 2022.