Lululemon to Swap ‘Dupe’ Leggings for Align Ones
Lululemon wants everyone to have a pair of its Align leggings.
Guests who attend a pop-up that Lululemon is hosting with their dupes can leave wearing Lululemon’s Align pants. The brand will host its first experiential event to take on “dupe culture” with the Align Leggings Dupe Swap being held May 6 and 7 in Los Angeles.
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Lululemon is inviting guests to trade up and swap their dupes for the real thing, when they come to the pop-up store at L.A.’s Westfield Century City Mall from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., PST, while supplies last.
Align launched in 2015 as a single item, the 25-inch tight to allow yogis to feel light and free while they practice. It has grown to a complete franchise with many products from tops to bottoms, one-pieces to dresses. Today the Align women’s business generates $1 billion in sales, according to Nikki Neuburger, chief brand officer of Lululemon.
According to Neuburger, the reason for the swap is they launched the Align ad campaign called “Get Into It” in April, which will continue through the course of the year.
“We were really just brainstorming on ways to have more fun, in terms of activating around the campaign and bringing it to life in a way that guests and consumers can experience it,” she said.
She said the Align franchise is an icon for Lululemon and created the category of leggings. “The feel and quality of the Align pant can not be matched. If you’ve worn one, you would know, and if you haven’t, that’s why we’re doing the dupe swap,” she said.
She said dupe culture took off with Instagram and picked up steam with TikTok. “I think the team told me there are 3.5 billion hashtags of dupes which say there are other products like this icon but is cheaper or a parody of it. We’re so confident of our quality not being matched, that we thought it would be a really fun exercise to play into the cultural context of dupes. We want people to bring in their pair and try on ours, and we’re confident they will try on the Align pant and love it and leave their dupe behind,” she said.
All exchanged dupe products will be recycled through Debrand, a textile recycling company that Lululemon has a long-standing partnership with.
Align leggings, which come in short, 25-inch length, flare and wide leg, retail from $98 to $110. Sizes range from 0 to 20.
The Align pants are made of proprietary fabric, Nulu, which no other company uses. What they designed for yoga in 1998 has transcended to be worn for all matters of activity. “You’ll see people dress it up and down, for work, we’ve seen kids wearing them to nightclubs, or to Coachella last weekend. We’ve continued to build and expand on the icon so people can wear them for multiple occasions,” said Neuburger.
She anticipates that they will be giving away 1,000 Align leggings over the course of two days. Although Align leggings come in a multitude of colors, they will be giving away black leggings.
The criteria for the swap is the leggings must be non-Lululemon, and there’s a limit of one per guest.
Neuburger said Lululemon selected L.A. for the event because “it’s the hub of this creator culture,” and their ambassador network.
“L.A. is the only experience in North America. We’re looking forward to more experiences popping up over the course of the year,” she said.
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