Fitness is en vogue at Birmingham Fashion Week

By Natalie Tejeda Published: Wednesday, April 23, 2014, 3:46 pm

BIRMINGHAM, Al (WIAT) - Birmingham's Fashion Week is in full swing. But tonight's runway show is a little different. It wont be high fashion making it's way down the catwalk but rather gym fashion. CBS 42 was given a backstage view of the new look of fitness wear.

Usually when you think of models walking down the catwalk you think of tall, thin and perfect. But actually when designing fashion for fitness wear. You're designing clothes for people of all different shapes and sizes.

At Pure Barre in downtown Homewood nearly forty women pack the studio for the noon class.

'Pure Barre consists of small isometric holds or muscle contractions,' says instructor Hannah Beth Cobb. 'That helps tone up the body and then we help stretch those muscles to create that long lean effect.'

But whether you're there to shed post-baby weight, drop ten pounds before summer or just tone up, fashion is key. Sweat pants are no longer en vogue.

'After you're finished working out, throw on a pair of heels, throw on a pair of boots, whatever you have and you can go out. Go to lunch or dinner or grocery shopping or whatever you need to do,' says Alyssa Waters, another Pure Barre instructor and also a coordinator of the studios retail store.

She says from bright colors to paint splatters to animal prints to cute cut outs, when it comes to lifestyle wear, anything goes these days.

'Everyone comes in and you see the neon's, you see the splatter paint, you see the cutouts and you get to see the different clients personalities really show through,' claims Waters.

And its not just the teeny tiny women who sport these form fitting clothes. As ladies gain confidence in their body, many feel good about showing it off. And it's a look that wears well on runway models and the rest of us who are on our way to looking like models while sporting the latest fashions in class.

If you're interested in any of the classes or the fashions, they're all available at Pure Barre in Downtown Homewood.

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