Black activewear on the way out?
Ellie Nicholls was walking through Sydney’s Bondi, fresh from a pilates class at the painfully trendy Body by Berner, which she described as “the it-girl pilates place in Bondi” – when she pulled out her phone to share a surprise realisation.
“My one takeaway is I’m literally throwing out all of my black activewear and starting again,” she said, while still wearing black activewear.
“Literally no one was wearing black except for me and I looked like such a loser.
“They were in really cute colourful, or even other neutrals like grey, brown, sage, greeny kind of sets, and they looked so good.”
Comments on the video
Naturally, those born before 1995 weren’t happy with this info, and the comment section made it clear that Gen Z and the “it girls” will have to pry everyone’s black activewear out of their calloused hands.
“I cannot wear any colour other than black! I SWEAT TOO MUCH,” one user wrote.
Another declared: “Black activewear will ALWAYS be chic doll, ALWAYS”.
Others urged Nicholls not to ditch her wardrobe over a fleeting trend.
“Don’t throw out your clothes!!!! It’s a trend and black is forever,” warned one viewer.
“I think all black looks so sleek,” someone else claimed.
Clearly, not everyone was ready to embrace this new style.
In fact, one commenter said their entire city would fight to defend black activewear.
“As a Melbourne girl I’m offended! Black workout gear only and forever,” one Melburnian said.
“Okay but us Melbourne girlies can’t stray from the black,” another doubled down.
And a Sydneysider replied: “I’m a Bondi girlie and stand out in my colourful sets every time I do a Melbourne class”.
A fashion stylist weighs in
Fashion stylist Donny Galella quickly reassured the nation: black hasn’t disappeared from gyms, even in Sydney’s East.
“I totally disagree,” he told news.com.au. “I train at Conditn Randwick [a cool Eastern Suburbs studio] and do HIIT classes and reformer, and there is still a lot of black activewear.
“Let’s face it. Black is easy. When getting ready for the gym, black is easier to co-ordinate with clothes, shoes, socks, caps.”
But Galella admits that colour is having a moment.
“We are definitely seeing activewear move into fun colours and trend colours like beige, then we saw lots of brown (currently trending). But I feel black will always be the most popular workout colour,” he said.
There are also practical reasons why black remains top.
“Another reason black is most popular – it’s less likely to show sweat stains. And for some, black is the most slimming,” he said.
Beautiful diabetic girl in activewear working out in the city. Diabetic teenage girl with continuous glucose monitor and insulin pump exercising. Concept of daily life with chronic illness, diabetes for teenagers. Exercise. Photo / Getty Images
Are brands pivoting to colour?
If anyone’s got a finger on the pulse, it’s the people selling the tights.
Matilda Robertson, co-owner and CEO of Stax, told news.com.au that black is still their bread and butter.
“Black pieces are still our bestsellers at every launch, so I wouldn’t say our customers have moved away from black completely,” she said.
“But colour pieces – particularly pinks, purples, and blues – are gaining steam, especially as the weather warms up. Our girlie, colourful Bloom collection sold out instantly earlier this year, and we just restocked Peak Summer due to high demand for colour! Plus, we have a big summer planned, with lots of new styles and colours I’m really excited for.”
She said they keep a close eye on the market to give people what they want.
“There will always be black activewear, but our community loves colour too, so we make sure to include it as often as we can! Especially our community in Bondi!” she added.
From her personal view, she’s not worried.
“I think a black set is still very chic, so I won’t be removing the colour options from the website anytime soon – but it’s fun to play with colours, especially as the weather warms up in Australia!” she said.
“Black activewear will always be fashionable in my opinion (even in Bondi!), but if you want to have some fun with colour – there are plenty of options.”
So while some fashion TikTokers might say black is on its way out, the bigger picture hints it’s staying.
And ultimately, we should all wear what makes us comfortable.
Sign up to Herald Premium Editor’s Picks, delivered straight to your inbox every Friday. Editor-in-Chief Murray Kirkness picks the week’s best features, interviews and investigations. Sign up for Herald Premium here.