Lululemon Just Released a Bold, New Digital Print—Here’s Why It’s Such a Big Deal

Given Lululemon's reputation as a go-to for toned-down activewear (it's best known for its sleek black essentials and subtle patterns—think marbled, striped, or dotted fabrics in neutral palettes), you might want to prepare yourself for the following: The fitness fashion brand's taking your beloved Wunder Unders way outside their color comfort zone with this vibrant new print it just released.

Its design team found the inspo for their kaleidoscopic motif during a trip to New York City. “While we were [there], we took pictures of wheat-pasted posters—one in particular really stood out on Great Jones Street. [It had] so many layers of decaying colors, textures, and graphic elements clashing together,” says Anoosha Foroughi, Lululemon’s concept director. “At that moment, we knew we had to create a print based on the cool streetscape sighting."

“We took pictures of wheat-pasted posters—one in particular really stood out on Great Jones Street."

The result? A collage of  “colorful paper pieces, distressed textures, and half-tone bitmap dots,” which Foroughi says was then digitized to create a photo-real print that was subsequently applied directly to fabric. It's being offered as an option for classic Lululemon pieces like the high-rise Wunder Under tight, $98, and the Energy bra, $52, as well as in new designs comprised of the brand’s Nulux and Luxtreme materials.

While this latest design isn't Lululemon's first foray into flashy graphics—it started dabbling with digital photo-real prints a year ago, using handmade art or original images, like three prints inspired by Brazilian artist Janaïna Milheiro's hand-cut feather designs for its Featherlite Collection—it's by far the boldest. And you can expect more pattern play from the brand going forward, according to Foroughi. “We have a lot of new, exciting prints coming up,” she says. BRB, while I make room in my leggings drawer.  

Lululemon's design team's been turning out hits as of late, including the buzziest sports bra on Pinterest, plus two pairs of the most-flattering leggings right now (NBD).