Have Millennials killed leggings? How Gen Z is evolving activewear

Rana says her target market is women like herself, aged 18-25, who are active but still fashion-oriented.

“I think millennials are generally like your black leggings, or even your 3/4 leggings with loose t-shirts. So being a little bit different means stepping outside of that,” she says.

A report was prepared from the retail intelligence firm, “Death of the Toy?” It found that the proportion of tights sold at activewear retailers in the US and UK dropped from 46.9 percent in 2022 to 38.7 percent in 2025.

A brief look at the 22-year-old Stranger Things Star Millie Bobby Brown’s brand, Florence by Mills, unveils velvet tracksuit pants, miniskirts and cotton boxers; not a single pair of lycra tights in sight.

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Meanwhile, the latest collaboration between Nike and Kim Kardashian’s brand Skims included plenty of options for tights-haters, and even athleisure giant Lululemon expanded its offering of looser silhouettes after seeing it. share decline Almost 20 percent in June.

“Legging is definitely not dead,” says Kimberley Owen, high-end athleisure category buyer for Australian retailer The Iconic.

“They are still a wardrobe staple, especially for high-performance training where the construction and fit of traditional tights are much better suited than baggy alternatives.”

But he says pants, including sweatpants and sweatpants, are catching up with slimmer silhouettes.

“While pants made up a third of leggings sales in the early 2020s, they now stand shoulder to shoulder with leggings in sales.”

Extended tights and capri pants “Traditional” sportswear brands like Adidas and The Upside are also gaining ground, according to Owen, as they introduce more “elevated” trouser options that can be worn in the office.

Younger generations want something different from their sportswear, says Yvonne Kostiak, head of the active department at trend forecasting agency WGSN.

“Millennials were the first generation to really embrace the wellness movement and invest their money in wellness products and services. With that, they embraced elements like leggings and integrated them into their lives,” she says.

“Generation Z wants to define their own style and narrative in activewear and is rejecting the athleisure style that came before them.”

Georgia Cranswick, a 30-year-old physiotherapist and instructor at Good Times Pilates Studio in Melbourne, is a renewed legging enthusiast.

“I also worked at Lululemon, so I wore them a lot in my life,” she says.

“I think it got to the point where I was like, ‘Okay, this is really boring and I love clothes and so much of my wardrobe that I can’t explore.'”

Cranswick’s outfits for teaching Pilates and working out, which she shares on TikTok, include cotton trousers, merino wool shorts from Australian brand Nagnata, off-the-shoulder tops and even belts.

“It’s allowed me to be a lot more creative with what I wear to work instead of just jumping into something that’s really easy.”

While synthetic materials such as lycra and spandex, commonly used in activewear, are preferred for their durability, lightness and sweat-wicking properties, Cranswick found that they also smell more and require more washing.

Cranswick says he now prefers merino wool, which is odor-resistant, moisture-wicking and breathable.

Kostiak says more customers are definitely becoming interested in sustainable activewear.

“Consumers’ concern for their health and environment will lead to a gradual shift away from petrochemical-derived fibers towards natural, bio-based, circular and renewable materials.”

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