Anatomy Of A Trend

By Tony Karon

Time was, a fashion-conscious body would dare don a sweat suit only while curled up in first class. No longer. Sweats are in for the fashion cognoscenti, from smart, casual moms to partying celebrities. And for boldface types, they're not just to own. There's hardly a hip-hop star without an eponymous line of hoodies and pants. So who's responsible for breathing new life into the long-reviled ensemble? The answer depends on how far back you want to go.

Like its cousin the sneaker, the tracksuit came into the fashion mainstream via the street, through hip-hop and rave culture. The sweat suit became a B-boy uniform partly because disco gear did not lend itself to the gymnastics of break dancing. Another influence: music legends like Bob Marley, who adopted sweats as a uniform (and may have been drawing on the much iconized image of tracksuit-clad John Carlos and Tommie Smith giving black-power salutes at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics).

But the tipping point, as with almost any fashion, was its adoption by high-profile stylish women--in the fall of 2001. Fashion is a game in which alpha-dog celebrities stay ahead of middle-class consumers, often by mimicking inner-city teenagers and other transgressive subcultures. Madonna's bold use of classic Adidas roused a posse of A-list imitators ranging from Gwyneth Paltrow and Cameron Diaz to Pink. J. Lo made the pastel Juicy Couture velour sweat suit a must-have item, then started producing her own.

And apres J. Lo, le deluge: there were sweats-inspired looks on the runway at Ralph Lauren, Prada and Valentino. The wheel has come full circle. At the most recent haute couture shows, the folks from Juicy Couture announced they would soon release a tracksuit for (gasp!) men. --By Tony Karon