Olympics or Market Gap? Milano Unica’s Athleisure Trend Examined
Alexandra Harrell
5 min read
Milano Unica showcased not only the Fall/Winter 2025-2026 collections of high-end textiles during its 39th edition, held July 9-11, but also the introduction of a new president: third-generation textile manufacturer Simone Canclini.
For the Italian textile trade show held in Milan, Canclini represents a “guarantee of excellence and a continuity of an ongoing commitment to the growth of the textiles and accessories market in the premium and luxury segment,” the organization said in a statement.
And Canclini—the president of Fondazione del Tessile Italiano and CEO of his same-name company founded in 1925 in the Como silk district, specializing in producing luxury fabrics—wants to maintain the mission of Milano Unica.
“It’s very important to continue to be focused on the quality of the [exhibitors] as we have a mission to maintain—to always have the best clients worldwide,” Canclini told Sourcing Journal.
And not just maintain, but also expand. As the show has a history of excellent output regarding luxury fibers for the men’s, women’s and accessories markets, Canclini continued, there’s a new opportunity on the horizon: Athleisure.
“The sports world, the casualwear, is more important [now],” he said. “So we have to complete the offering and if we can, we will have it all.”
While post-pandemic collections centered around loungewear and elevated pajamas, a new genre of comfortable clothing is set to take over 2025—one that’s structured, luxurious and adaptable. Dubbed “athflow” (a portmanteau of athleisure and elegance), this extension of athleisure into the luxury world was a predictable next step, as consumers are placing technical sportswear and functional apparel higher and higher on the value chain. Per Grandview Research, the athleisure market is expected to grow $549 billion by 2028 at an 8.6 compounded annual growth rate (CAGR).
Albini Group portrayed each theme of its Autumn/Winer 2025-2026 collection through an AI-generated image and a corresponding Surrealist artist. For the “Business & Leisure” theme, artist Maurits Cornelis Escher’s illusionist approach conveyed the concepts of elegance, work and travel.
Albini Group, a family-owned business making fabrics for over 145 years, had a different take on athflow, opting for the hybrid “bleisure” instead. The term, used to describe a business trip with a few extra leisure days, now encompasses work outfits featuring hints of casual style. Think comfortable stretch fabrics that don’t sacrifice the feel of cotton. The “emblem” of this type of textile, the group said, is Ablini 1876’s 4Flex Formula: a four-way stretch fabric made with a high percentage of cotton (versus synthetic fibers), resulting in a multifunctional and versatile fabric ideal for both business and pleasure.
“[Bleisure] is something you can wear at the office and then, if you have another apportionment, you can go there directly,” a representative of the group told Sourcing Journal. “Since they are super comfortable, they don’t lose their feel or shape.”
The hangtag for the Vilebrequin boardshorts made with Reda Active’s Merino wool material.
Similarly, Reda, Italy’s first B Corp-certified textile manufacturer, utilized Reda Active for its Spring/Summer 2025 leisure collection. Made 100 percent in Italy, the “active” fabrics are made from ZQ-certifiedmulesing-free, pure Merino wool. The completely traceable material “exploits” the characteristics of Merino wool—providing high breathability, avoiding unpleasant odors and keeping the skin dry—while also staying wrinkle-resistant by “following the body’s natural movements” for all-day wear. French label Vilebrequin, for example, utilized this fiber for its first Merino wool-based boardshorts.
Italian-made warp knit fabrics producer Eurojersey showcased its Autumn/Winter 2025 Sensitive Fabrics at Milano Unica, dubbed “Smarten Up,” as a Mondrian-inspired collection “in search of a new balance and stability in a world that seems contradictory and challenging.” Channeling the Gorpcore trend, the “high adventure” theme is based on the concept of stratification with the layering of garments for flexibility and adaptability.
“The target audience is the customer who can combine the fashion aspect of fabrics with the performance aspect,” Matteo Cecchi, Eurojersey’s business unit director, said. “Athleisure is one of the top examples that I can provide you with customers that want to wear something combining [those two] together—they need the performance but they don’t want compromise the look.”
Trabaldo Togna showcased the next iteration of its Estrato fiber—the allegedly only fabric that can stretch naturally up to 30 percent—with the introduction of Estremo, the group’s new fabric with over 20 percent stretchability.
For Trabaldo Togna, this growing demand for stretch harkens back to lockdown. Customers are returning to the office, but they don’t want to sacrifice the comfort they enjoyed during the pandemic, the heritage Italian fabric producer explained.
While most exhibitors acknowledged the exact reason for the market opportunity—the evolution of post-pandemic apparel—Italian knitwear manufacturer Maglificio Ripa had a different theory.
“The next winter Olympics will be in Milan, so looking at the future and following that hype, we decided to create a capsule collection dedicated to everything that is sport-related but not sport-specific,” Luca Olivini, sales manager at Maglificio Ripa, told Sourcing Journal. “Like leggings, first-layer fabrics—just following this big trend happening in Italy that all the European brands are [chasing].”
Per the Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026 organization (established in 2019 to organize, promote and publicize sporting and cultural events relevant to the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games), the chance to become a licensee is a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to capitalize on reaching a potential TV audience of 2 billion people on top of the expected 9 million in-person attendees, “arousing” the interest of 70 percent of the countries belonging to the Top Global Economies, taking advantage of the four adjacent countries with a “deep-rooted tradition” of winter sports, whose accumulated gross domestic product (GDP) generates roughly $8 trillion, per the foundation.
“Every single brand will do something related to the Olympics,” Olivini said. “Even the most fashionable brands will do something.”
