Sweatpants used to have one job. Keep your legs warm before and after training, then disappear into a gym bag. Today they show up at dinner, at the office and on the runway in Paris. Getting there took about a century.
Where they came from
The history is a little blurry, as clothing history usually is. Émile Camuset, who founded Le Coq Sportif in 1882 as a hosiery business in Romilly-sur-Seine, is often cited as the original creator of sweatpants. They were sportswear first, something athletes pulled on over their kit.
For most of the twentieth century that is where they stayed. Practical, grey, a little shapeless. Fine for running, not something you would wear on purpose.
Then the runway took notice
That changed when designers started treating sweatpants as a fabric and a shape rather than a category. At Louis Vuitton's spring/summer 2026 show in Paris, Nicolas Ghesquière gave sweatpant-style trousers what one report called a tailored upgrade, and sent grey knit pants out under a finely fringed sweater.
At Wales Bonner's spring/summer 2026 men's show, straight leg track pants with side stripes were paired with a crisp white button-down shirt, and with boxy utility jackets and nylon windbreakers.
The message from both shows was the same. A relaxed trouser does not have to be lazy. It depends entirely on what you put next to it.
How to wear them outside the gym
The shift from training gear to wardrobe piece comes down to cut and fabric more than anything else.
Go straight, not tapered. A straight or relaxed leg that falls cleanly to the shoe looks deliberate. A tight cuff at the ankle still reads as gym.
Choose weight. Heavy French terry holds a line from hip to hem. Thin jersey collapses and bags at the knee.
Dress the top half. A crisp shirt, a heavyweight crewneck or a coach jacket changes the whole outfit. Keep shoes clean.
Match the tone. Grey sweatpants with a slightly darker or lighter grey top look intentional. Mixing a dozen colours does not.
Ours, sitting on concrete
The sweatpants in the photo are cut in 400 GSM French terry with an acid wash finish, a relaxed straight leg, an elastic waist and an embroidered logo on the back pocket. Heavy enough to keep their shape on a cold step, relaxed enough to live in.
They pair naturally with the zip hoodie in the same weight, but they also work with a white shirt and a jacket when you want to dress it up a little. That is the whole point. One pair, many days.
Find your pair with the Odda Straight Leg Sweatpants, the Odda Wide Leg Sweatpants or the full collection.