Jogger pants, quickly trending in women’s loungewear, began in the men’s sector as a cinched chino pant. Though a type of jogger can now be found just about anywhere, Publish Brand’s Michael Huynh is the designated creator of the style and actually has the name “jogger pant” trademarked.
The concept stemmed from the desire for more “dope” sweatpants back in 2009. Huynh and his team had the design sent overseas to be produced in black, heather, maroon and navy. The sample came back from the factory rather shockingly. Instead of brushed fleece, the sweatpants were made from stretch twill material. Huynh realized they had accidentally struck gold. Men, unlike women, can only wear a handful of silhouettes, so this new design was truly different, he thought.
Knowing something had to change, Huynh launched photo campaigns displaying the pants in a masculine, luxurious light. This method reeled in a group of fashion-forward consumers, but general consumers remained unconvinced. They needed to see that this new pant was an accessible style. In attempts to convert, the first catalog “trained” consumers on how to wear them with a variety of currently trending shoes, including Nike Huaraches and Adidas Stan Smiths. An immediate jump in sales followed, so the marketing continued with the goal of portraying the jogger pant as an everyday, casual item that people would eventually adapt.
The jogger pant has been a huge hit in the past year, but there is still only a small percentage of guys comfortable wearing them. As more and more stores carry joggers, the percentage may grow as the normalcy of the silhouette is established. Huynh’s game plan is to enjoy the increased popularity resulting from copy-cat designs, and then market the idea that they did it first. As the originator, Huynh has taken it as Publish Brand’s purpose to make jogger pants a staple.
In the end, it is the consumer who will decide whether or not the style will stick around another season, but the functionality and variety available in jogger pants leads to the belief that this is no temporary fad.
