The U.S. hosiery market jumped 3% to $7.3 billion in 2014, with Millenials (those aged 18-34) experiencing the most growth. Encompassing sheer hosiery, tights, and socks, the young adult segment saw an increase of 12% for the 12 month period. While tights and socks have enjoyed consistent gains in recent years, sheer hosiery has been a segment that struggled most - until now. And, Millennials now represent 27% of the $482 million sheer hosiery market, according to researchers NPD Group. Generally, consumers buy 1.4 sheer hosiery items per purchase. Tops are the most popular apparel item with shoppers, said data obtained by NPD's new tracking service, which gives information on consumer buying behavior using receipts. Millennials are more likely to add socks to their sheer hosiery purchases compared to non-Millennials, said the findings.“Millennials are changing the game for hosiery, just as they are in categories throughout retail, but they are also playing by different rules,” said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at the NPD Group. “Traditional thinking and marketing approaches don’t apply to this consumer segment – it’s about being different, and marketers need to follow suit, even in a category with a strong heritage.”As younger, more fashion-conscious shoppers search for stylish, trend-driven underwear, more wearable garments for less money are being delivered in the fast-fashion model.And regular fashion labels are getting onboard. Analysts expect companies to expand even further into innerwear."With more fashion and fabrics and performance coming into play, there's an opportunity," said Susan Anderson, senior research analyst at FBR Capital Markets & Co.Consumers buy new underwear approximately every six months, which is not enough to grow the underwear business. U.S. sales of undershirts, bottoms, shapewear and bras have been flat at $14.9 billion for the past two years, according to another NPD Group report."We have new brands coming out and saying, 'We fit better and feel better,' but that's just displacing sales from one place to another," said Cohen."This is about a niche market opportunity, but that doesn't mean that over time it won't grow to be more volume-centric."Available on Le Souk, Gunze is a maker of cool innerwear and legwear. Made from high performance materials that mainly use Japanese technology, Gunze's hosiery, socks and jocks are perfect for fussy Millenials, covering the two all-important sides: function" and fashion.