The California Market Center will launch Shape, a new trade show focused on the “athleisure” trend, during the March 16–18 run of Los Angeles Fashion Market.

Exhibitors will showcase lifestyle collections that blend casualwear with athletic and leisure apparel and accessories for specialty retailers such as luxury spas, boutique yoga studios, gyms and better boutiques.

“Projections and trends in retail show sharp sales decreases in staple purchases such as denim and casual pants and a strong increase in activewear,” said Brittany Carr, CMC director of events, in a statement. “The growing trend in fashion is in the newly coined ‘athlesiure’ category, athletic + leisure, with women and teens wearing luxe athletic gear and yoga wear in lieu of denim or other casualwear.”

Among the brands signed on to exhibit at the new show is Style Stalker, the contemporary brand founded in Sydney that relocated to Los Angeles earlier this year.

“There really is a blur between ‘normal’ clothes and ‘workout’ clothes,” said Style Stalker co-founder Rachel Zeilic. “The revolution started with Nike a few years ago. We started seeing cool buyers walking the floors of trade shows in Nikes and power suits. Now it’s everywhere, and LA is the perfect city for it. Everyone here leads a healthy lifestyle. They’ll wear their workout gear to work and then take a pilates class at lunch, for example.”
For more information, visit www.shapetradeshow.com.