It was inevitable that lockdowns would change how we dress. With offices closed and many people working from home, more comfortable attire that would have fallen foul of professional dress codes was now in higher demand.

Having said that, our report found that office wear conversation grew by 67% in 2020 compared to the previous year. This is likely due to a rethink on work fashion rather than a renewed commitment to the old ways. Clearly formalwear has not been killed off by the pandemic, but it’s certainly getting a refresh.

For some, spending on it may have dropped by 50% as we keep it business up top, and casual down below.

Now back to streetwear and sportswear, specifically the humble tracksuit.

We can see interest in tracksuits waxing and waning over the years, but there’s no denying the jump in interest as the pandemic was declared in March 2020, and mentions have continued to increase since. If things carry on, 2021 could see peak tracksuit.

On the other end of the fashion spectrum, we have suits. When the pandemic hit, interest in them plummeted.

Suits will be an interesting trend to watch. There’s some recovery here, but we wouldn’t expect normal numbers until offices reopen and the world looks more like it did in 2019.

Meanwhile, many companies plan to stay remote, fully or otherwise, and the necessity of suits may be reassessed after so long without them. Employees themselves may be resistant to strict dress codes when they return to offices, too.

Could this be the death knell for the work suit? It’s too early to say, but we can imagine their importance in people’s minds has been diminished by the pandemic. It could spell bad news for the tailors of the world.

And with comfort clothes at the top of many people’s work attire lists right now, maybe we’ll see more tracksuits in the boardroom in the future.

Thanks for reading

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Stay safe,

Brandwatch React team