Luxury loungewear is no longer just for lounging

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Luxury loungewear is no longer just for lounging

Published: 05 Dec. 2020, 07:00

A model poses while wearing loungewear released from Dior, France-based luxury brand. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Every November, people rush out to buy nice outfits ahead of the annual party season. Things are a little different this year: As people spend more time at home, they're turning to loose-fitting outfits suitable for relaxing and lying around.

Loungewear used to only describe comfortable clothes worn at home such as tracksuits, sweatshirts and jogger pants. The definition has got a little broader, however, as the at-home wardrobe grows. Knitted cardigans and hoodies are now also part of the category, as is luxury loungewear.

With the high-end fashion market struggling globally as homebound fashionistas have little need for haute couture, premium clothing brands have been scrambling to launch their own take on loungewear, made from high-quality fabric such as silk and cashmere.

French luxury brand Dior in November introduced a collection called Chez Moi that only includes various types of loungewear. The range includes silk twill pajamas, cashmere tracksuits and velour hoodies.

A model wears loungewear that was launched for this year’s fall and winter season from British brand Daks. [LF]

British brand Daks also launched a male loungewear collection for this year’s fall and winter season. The collection includes loose-fitting hoodies, zip-up jumpers, sweatshirts and jersey banding pants. The items were designed practically so that people can move comfortably at home, according to Daks, but are also stylish enough to be worn outdoors or for working out.

Theory, a New York-based fashion brand, plans to release its first Luxe Lounge collection in Korea in January. The brand has designed a number of loungewear products for this year’s winter season such as hoodies, wide pants and jumpsuits.

A model poses while wearing loungewear from casual wear and dress clothing brand Juicy Couture. According to the brand, knit loungewear is especially popular these days. [JUICY COUTURE]

Casual wear and dress clothing brand Juicy Couture is also gaining popularity for its loungewear lineups. In September, the brand newly launched a collection line Black Label — consisting of luxurious jumpers, knits and cardigans.

According to fashion retailer Net-a-Porter, sales of indoors clothing jumped 70 percent on year during the spring season this year when the coronavirus pandemic first started to escalate.

“As loungewear starts to cover a larger range of clothing, more people are looking for it with many different purposes,” said Lim Ji-yeon, head of Samsung Fashion Institute. “People are wearing loungewear not only as ‘one-mile wear’ [clothing that is worn within a one-mile radius of home], but also as ‘two-mile wear.”

“Even after the Covid-19 pandemic, the popularity of loungewear is expected to grow further as one of the largest sales sources in the season-less clothing category.”

Yoon Jae-won, head of the male clothing design team at Daks, agrees with Lim.

“Loungewear, especially with unique designs based on comfortable clothing, will be particularly popular,” said Yoon.

BY YOO JI-YOEN [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]