Athleisure shows how clothing’s rules no longer exist

By Adrian Wooldridge

Lululemon in Covent Garden feels more like an art gallery than a sportswear shop. Eye-catching posters issue instructions: “sweat, hydrate, sweat, hydrate”. Screens show images of impossibly beautiful people glowing with health. The shop displays its prized products – figure-hugging yoga pants – on the walls like prizewinning artworks. Lululemon has mastered the art of retail in the age of Amazon. But it has done more than that: it has grasped the new fault-line in society.

For most of history clothing was defined by the job you did. People who lifted things wore overalls. Bakers wore aprons. Jeans caught on because they were tough. And those who did no manual labour flaunted that fact loudly: Chinese scholars had long finger nails; gentlewomen wore long dresses; gentlemen sported frock coats.