Lululemon launches a collaboration with Roksanda Ilinčić

Never have the worlds of sport and fashion been more intertwined. The rise of street style and the demand for clothes that work from 9am to 9pm have given birth to a fundamental shift in style, shaking up our sartorial vocabularies to now include comfort, mobility and ease. Today’s on-the-move generation of women look to athleisure not only to exercise in, but to perform all day as they run errands, do work and generally live out their lives.

It’s only logical then that Lululemon, the performance-driven exercise giant, would partner with high fashion brand Roksanda Ilinčić to design clothes and gear for the athletic wear house, launching on Lululemon.com.au and in select stores October 22. With the help of the Serbian-born, London-based designer, who is a regular fixture on the international fashion scene, Lululemon has unveiled a collaboration of pieces that are equal parts practical and stylish.

Below, Vogue chats with Audrey Reilly, senior vice president of women’s design at Lululemon and Ilinčić as they discuss the process of design, melding Ilinčić’s high fashion with Lululemon’s high function and the potential of exercise gear to empower women. 

How did this collaboration come about?

Audrey: “We collaborate with designers and brands that share our values and vision. I have known of Roksanda for several years now and have always been inspired by how she designs for the modern woman beyond the female form. We love [her approach to] femininity, cultural pieces, art architecture, and how she translates this into her designs. She also lives the sweat life of running, yoga and pilates.” 

Roksanda: “I have been practicing pilates for quite some time and Lululemon was one of the labels that I always gravitated towards when choosing my outfits. When they approached me, I disocvered how many similarities we share as brands, from supporting women to constantly redefining femininity through our designs. We were doing this on very different platforms and the idea of merging those two worlds became very exciting.”

Tell us about the process of design.

A: “We began the collection approximately two years ago. This was a fully collaborative effort – we started thinking about what inspires us, combined with going into our archives and sorting through our favourite designs from both Roksanda Ilinčić and Lululemon, and other archived styles.

To truly bring to life the vision, we both spent time in each other’s worlds in London and in Vancouver. The journey started with the creation of a vision, narrative and mood boards full of images, initial sketches and a vision around how graphic the collection would be in terms of colour. Roksanda’s team initially pulled together a look book of cut up garments from us, them and vintage pieces. It was a very hands-on design process where we fitted together and edited to create the ultimate blended wardrobe of [gear to] run, train, do yoga and [live] life on the move.” 

R: “We have kept the collection in line with my aesthetic with exaggerated shapes, sculptural cuts and bold colour blocking, so it all feels very natural and in harmony with my own brand.”

A: “The capsule itself constantly blends sport and fashion – something that is true of Lululemon’s DNA: function-led, beauty infused… Each piece combines both Roksanda’s craftmanship with Lululemon’s signature athleticism—sweat-ready fabrics, made-to-move fits, packable features, reflective accents infuse the collection with all-weather functionality for yoga, running, training, and transitional wear.”

Tell us about a favourite piece in the collection.

R: “My favourite piece is certainly the Inner Expanse Infinity Coat! This piece was the starting point of the collection. We wanted to create a modular garment that has many different functions and ways that it can be worn. This is the winter coat that can be changed into a vest, trench coat and even a traveling pillow.”

A: I [also] really love the Inner Expanse Infinity Coat. It’s a standout piece from the autumn capsule… Equally, I am in love with the blended DNA of both of our brands [visible in] the Face Forward Define Jacket – this to me is where both worlds collided and created a new icon.” 

What did you learn from the process? Did sustainability factor into design at all?

A: “We use responsibly sourced and more sustainable materials wherever possible and innovate solutions to enhance our products and the planet.”

R: “It was fascinating to learn about all of the incredible technical possibilities [at Lululemon], product testing labs and constant devotion to function and reasons why a certain garment is created – something [that is] very relevant to the time that we live in.”

R: “It is so important to feel empowered, [to feel] good, in whatever you wear, but particularly when exercising – to feel strong enough to push further and harder and to get the balance of style with function. My advice would always be to never shy away from colour, even if it is something you are not used to wearing. You can start off small with a pop of colour – such as layering the candy pink roll neck and pairing with an unexpected voluminous piece.”

How do you hope women will feel in these pieces?

A: “We wanted to celebrate the woman on the move who loves bold colours and technical fabrics. I hope she feels beautiful and confident, that these pieces support her throughout every step of her day from work to working out to social [outings] and recovery.”

R: “Now more than ever women are pushing boundaries, so I always want women to feel empowered and protected in these garments, like a coat of armour wrapped around them to take them through the day to night and now also into the gym or yoga studio.”