Athleisure is taking over Indian fashion: Decathlon India’s Sports Director on what Gen Z and Millennials are wearing

Athleisure in India has moved far beyond the gym.

Decathlon India’s Sports Director on Gen Z and Millennials athleisure trends

Samarpita Yashaswini is a Content Producer for Fashion (HT Shop Now) at Hindustan Times Digital. She has five years of experience in lifestyle writing, specialising in fashion, beauty, and trend-led commerce content. She covers everything from seasonal must-haves and wardrobe essentials to brand reviews and styling edits that make everyday dressing easier and more exciting.

She began her writing journey in 2020, but her love for fashion started long before that. Over the years, she has interned with Times Internet and Desi Martini, and worked with Pinkvilla and Schbang, building a strong foundation in digital storytelling and audience-first content. At HT Digital, she writes and creates fashion affiliate content for both the website and social media, blending trend awareness with shopping practicality. Her work sits at the intersection of style and strategy combined with equal parts aesthetic and analytics.

A self-confessed fashion enthusiast, Samarpita has a sharp eye for colours, prints, silhouettes, and textures. She notices the fall of a fabric, the mood of a palette, and the difference a good cut can make. Her expertise lies in translating trends into wearable, relatable style and helping readers shop smarter, not louder.

She studied at Delhi Public School and graduated from Miranda House, University of Delhi in 2019, where she also wrote for the college magazine. She later completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Advertising and PR from MICA, Ahmedabad.

Samarpita believes fashion content doesn’t need to be complicated or overly eloquent. It should be simple, fun, and genuinely helpful, guiding readers through daily style decisions with confidence and joy.

Performance is becoming part of everyday fashion

One of the biggest changes in athleisure is that consumers are no longer looking at sportswear purely through the lens of appearance.

Features that were once associated primarily with gym clothes are now becoming desirable in everyday pieces. Sweat-wicking fabrics, four-way stretch and seamless construction are increasingly valued because they make clothing easier to wear through long, busy days.

“Young Indian consumers want high-functionality in their daily wardrobes,” Jensen says, adding that sports gear is no longer restricted to the gym or track.

That could mean wearing a pair of performance-inspired sneakers with jeans, styling breathable activewear with everyday separates or choosing lightweight joggers for a day that involves commuting, errands and social plans.

The result is a wardrobe where the boundaries between activewear and casualwear are becoming increasingly blurred.

Gen Z is making athleisure more relaxed

While comfort is important across generations, Gen Z is putting its own spin on the trend.

According to Jensen, younger consumers are gravitating towards relaxed, oversized fits and bold, tech-forward aesthetics. Instead of treating activewear as something that needs to be styled down after a workout, Gen Z is embracing its sporty identity as part of the look.

Oversized sweatshirts, loose trousers, relaxed T-shirts and statement sneakers fit naturally into this approach. The emphasis is less on looking traditionally polished and more on creating an outfit that feels effortless.

This also reflects the way Gen Z approaches fashion more broadly. The distinction between categories: gymwear, streetwear, casualwear and even workwear is becoming less rigid, giving consumers more freedom to mix pieces from different parts of their wardrobes.

Millennials want clothes that keep up with them

Millennials, meanwhile, appear to be approaching athleisure through the lens of versatility.

Jensen points to sleek joggers and breathable tops that can move between different parts of the day, from a workout to meetings and everything in between.

It makes sense for a generation that often has to fit multiple roles into the same day. Clothing that can handle a commute, a workout, travel and a casual evening without requiring a complete outfit change has obvious appeal.

Rather than buying something solely because it looks sporty, the emphasis is increasingly on whether it can earn its place in the everyday wardrobe.

The new Indian athlete isn’t choosing just one sport

There is another shift happening alongside the rise of athleisure: consumers are becoming less rigid about how they exercise.

“Specialisation is fading,” Jensen says. Modern athletes are increasingly building both speed and strength instead of defining themselves around one discipline.

That change is also influencing what people expect from their sportswear. A wardrobe might now include running shoes, strength-training clothes, walking gear and everyday activewear, with individual pieces serving multiple purposes.

For brands, this means designing products that are capable of performing across different activities while still fitting into everyday life.

Why athleisure is particularly relevant in India

The growth of sports culture across Indian cities is helping push the trend further.

As fitness becomes more visible and accessible, sportswear is naturally becoming more familiar outside traditional sporting spaces. This isn’t limited to metropolitan consumers either. According to Jensen, the growth of sports culture across Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities is contributing to the wider adoption of functional, active-inspired clothing.

Decathlon’s own design approach reflects this overlap between performance and lifestyle. In its Fitness and Running categories, the brand is focusing on products such as lightweight cushioned shoes and breathable apparel that are designed to perform during physical activity while fitting into the everyday wardrobe.

That balance could be particularly important for younger Indian shoppers, who increasingly want their clothes to work harder without compromising on aesthetics.

Comfort is now part of the style conversation

Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the rise of athleisure is that Indian consumers are no longer treating comfort and fashion as opposing choices.

The modern wardrobe can accommodate both.

A pair of performance sneakers can sit alongside tailored trousers. Joggers can replace jeans on a casual day. An oversized sports T-shirt can become part of a streetwear look. And breathable fabrics can be just as desirable for a day spent travelling or working as they are for an actual workout.

As Jensen puts it, “Indian youth are no longer choosing between comfort and style; they want both.”

And that may be what gives athleisure its staying power. What started as a category of clothing designed for movement is increasingly becoming a reflection of how younger Indians actually live: fast-paced, active and unwilling to sacrifice comfort for the sake of looking good.

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