Best Gym Clothing Brands for a Photoshoot

The question I get asked most in the week before a shoot isn't about posing or lighting. It's "what should I buy?" People see Alo, Gymshark and Nike all over their feed and assume they need a new £150 set to look right on camera. They don't. After 18 years of shooting fitness, here's my honest take on the big gym clothing brands, the looks that are working right now, and why a £5 set from AliExpress can photograph just as well as the expensive one.

The biggest gym clothing brands right now

The league table changes all the time. A brand that every client turned up in three years ago can disappear from my studio within a season, and something new takes its place. By sales, this is where things stand at the time of writing (October 2026):

• Nike: still the biggest name in sportswear by a distance, with $46.4bn in sales in its last financial year, even after a rough couple of years.
• adidas: €24.8bn in 2025.
• Lululemon: $11.1bn, and the brand most people mean when they say "premium leggings".
• Puma: €7.3bn.
• Under Armour: just under $5bn.
• Gymshark: £646m, and the UK's own success story, built in the West Midlands.

Behind those sit the UK creator brands, the ones I see most often on women's shoots: Oner Active, TALA and AYBL, plus Represent 247 for men who like a streetwear look.

Alo: the one everyone wants right now

Alo is the brand of the moment. Clients ask about it, and it shows up in more and more shoots. It looks clean on camera: smooth fabric, matching sets, small logos. It's also very expensive. A pair of Alo Airlift leggings is £128 on its own, before you've bought the top.

Nike for women: watch the collaborations

Nike as a company hasn't had its best few years, but some of its women's lines are excellent. NikeSKIMS, the collaboration with Kim Kardashian's SKIMS that launched in September 2025, is some of the best-cut gym clothing I've seen on women in the studio. It sits at the top end of Nike's prices, with bras from about £40 and leggings from about £85 on Nike's UK site.

Gymshark and the rest

Gymshark is still the safe default. The logo is small, the fits are made for training, and a men's stringer and shorts costs about £46. Alphalete and YoungLA are cut tight for physique work but can be logo-heavy, so check the size of the print before you buy. Represent 247 is mostly oversized, which hides shape. That's fine for a lifestyle frame, but it's the wrong choice for showing a physique.

The looks that are working right now

Brand matters far less than the look you're going for. These are the three I'd point most people towards.

Lingerie and bodysuits in the studio

A lot of the women I shoot have moved away from gym kit altogether for part of their session. The look is studio rather than gym: lingerie or a bodysuit, heels or thigh-high boots, laid across a box or a plinth under one hard light. No equipment, nothing to hide behind, just shape and shadow. It's the strongest trend in women's fitness photography right now, and it works beautifully in black and white.

If that's the look you want, plan it as a separate set within your session. Bring the gym kit for the training frames and the lingerie or bodysuit for the studio frames. You can see more of this style in the studio gallery.

Old school bodybuilding

If you're a real bodybuilding enthusiast, why not go old school? Baggy pants, a flannel shirt, a ripped vest or a stringer cut low under the arms. It's the Golden Era look, and it photographs with real character because it looks lived in rather than bought for the day. Explosive Fibres, a British bodybuilding brand that has been going since 1983, still makes the classic baggies, and Hardkore Klothing does the flannel shirts and baggy wrestler-style pants. You don't even have to wear the shirt: one of my favourite old school frames is a client with a flannel shirt simply tied around his waist. This works for women just as well as men.

Accessories: the detail most people forget

A gym shoot is trying to show you in your element, physique out, in the gym. Yet hardly anyone brings the things they actually train with. Lifting straps, an old school leather belt, wrist wraps, chalk, headphones (even if they're just around your neck). They make the images feel authentic rather than staged, and they give your hands something to do, which helps most people relax on camera.

Boxing gloves, hand wraps, a cap or a hoodie pulled half on all do the same job. Bring a small bag of whatever you'd normally train with and we'll use what works.

The honest truth: you don't need a big brand

The camera doesn't read the label. What it sees is fit, colour, fabric and shape. A plain, well-fitting set in a solid colour will photograph just as well whether it cost £5 or £150, and in some ways it's better, because there's no third-party logo in your images. That matters if you plan to use them commercially: I cover why in the what to wear to a fitness photoshoot guide.

Here's what the budget route costs at the time of writing:

• AliExpress: seamless leggings about £5.50, a sports bra about £4.35, a men's stringer about £4.29 and gym shorts about £3.77. A full outfit for under £10, less than one pair of Gymshark shorts.
• Temu: similar prices for similar plain kit.
• Primark Form: Primark's new activewear range, launched in September 2026, with pieces from £5 to £11.
• Decathlon: plain, cheap training basics that are built to be worn.

Compare that with roughly £56 to £63 for a women's Gymshark set, about £92 for TALA, or £128 for one pair of Alo leggings.

Buying budget gym clothes for a shoot: the rules

Order three to four weeks before your shoot

Delivery from AliExpress and Temu can take one to two weeks, sometimes longer. Ordering early gives you time to try everything on, swap a size and still have it on the day. If you're between sizes, order both.

Do the squat test

Put the leggings on, stand with your back to a mirror under a bright light and squat down. If you can see through them, so can the camera. Thin, cheap fabric often opens up when it stretches, so test the exact pair you'll wear.

Avoid shine

Wet-look and high-shine finishes catch the studio lights and create hot spots that are hard to fix in the edit. Choose matte fabric.

Check the seams

Loose threads, wavy seams and puckered waistbands show up in close-ups. Check everything before the day, and give new kit a wash before you wear it.

Plain and unbranded only

Never buy fake branded kit. Counterfeits can be seized at the border, and a fake logo in your photos is a problem for any business using them. Plain sets with no logo are the cheapest and the safest choice.

What to bring on the day

Two or three outfits in different colours, the shoes you train in, and your accessories. If you want a studio set, bring the lingerie or bodysuit as well. For colours, fit and what works under studio lighting, read the what to wear to a fitness photoshoot guide, or the men's gym photoshoot outfit guide. When you book, you'll get an email with the option to download our photoshoot prep guide, which has the full checklist.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which gym clothing brand is the biggest?

Nike, by sales, with $46.4bn in its last financial year. In the UK, Gymshark is the biggest homegrown gym brand, with £646m in sales.

Which gym clothing brand looks best on camera?

The one that fits you well in a solid colour with a small logo. Alo, Gymshark, NikeSKIMS and the UK creator brands all photograph well, but so does a plain budget set. Fit and fabric matter far more than the name on the waistband.

Are cheap gym clothes from AliExpress or Temu good enough for a photoshoot?

Yes, if you choose plain, matte, well-fitting pieces, order early and do the squat test. On camera nobody can tell what a set cost.

What brand is comparable to Gymshark?

AYBL, Alphalete and YoungLA sit in a similar space. For less money, Primark Form and Decathlon cover the basics.

Should I wear lingerie for a fitness photoshoot?

Only if it's the look you want. Many women now book a studio set in lingerie or a bodysuit alongside their gym frames. Plan it as its own set and bring the outfit with you.

Ready to plan your shoot? See the gym photoshoot page for ideas from real sessions, or go straight to pricing.