When it comes to premium activewear, Lululemon leggings have become the gold standard. Known for their buttery-soft feel, flattering fit, and long-lasting performance, these leggings have built a cult following across yoga studios, gyms, and coffee shops alike. But one question remains a mystery to many curious emerging brands and start-ups: Who actually makes Lululemon leggings?
In this blog, we explore the elusive manufacturing world behind Lululemon, discuss the exclusivity of their fabrics, and explain how your brand can achieve similar quality with the help of experienced sportswear specialists like Blue Associates Sportswear.
The Power of the Lululemon Brand
Before diving into the factories and fabrics, it’s important to understand why Lululemon leggings are so highly admired. Since its founding in 1998, Lululemon has grown from a niche yoga brand to a global activewear powerhouse. Their flagship product, the Align leggings, are especially popular due to their ultra-soft texture and lightweight performance, making them ideal for yoga, lounging or the school drop off followed by coffee.
These leggings retail at a premium, with most pairs priced between £88 and £120. Customers aren’t just paying for a piece of sportswear; they’re investing in the feel, fit, fabric, and reputation behind the Lululemon name.
So, how are these iconic leggings made? And can emerging start up brands replicate this success?
Who Makes Lululemon Leggings?
Despite the company’s public transparency around its values and sustainability goals, Lululemon does not disclose the specific factories that manufacture its leggings and other garments. This is by design and a closely guarded secret.
Many of the factories that produce Lululemon’s best-selling products are under strict Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs). These NDAs prevent them from promoting or advertising the fact that they work with Lululemon, ensuring that the brand maintains an air of exclusivity and competitive advantage.
In fact, the legging factories and fabric mills producing Lululemon leggings are among the best in the world, but they operate behind the scenes. Some are based in Asia—especially Vietnam, China, and Sri Lanka—where advanced production capabilities exist for high-end activewear.
By keeping these partnerships secret, Lululemon protects its designs, processes, and supply chain strategy so their competitors cannot easily copy and paste. While this secrecy makes it hard to pinpoint exactly who makes Lululemon leggings, industry insiders know that only the most capable and reliable manufacturers are considered for such elite partnerships.
Exclusive Fabrics: The Nulu™ Secret
One of the biggest factors behind the Align legging’s appeal is its proprietary Nulu™ fabric. This fabric is ultra-lightweight, sweat-wicking, and incredibly soft—creating that signature “naked sensation” feeling.
Nulu™ is developed in close collaboration with Lululemon’s textile partners and is exclusive to the brand. You won’t find Nulu fabric available for open market purchase or use by other labels.
The same applies to other Lululemon-exclusive fabrics such as Luon™, Luxtreme™, and Everlux™—each designed with a unique purpose and protected by intellectual property and supplier agreements.
For anyone looking to replicate the feel of Lululemon leggings, this presents a challenge. You can’t buy their fabric directly—but you can come VERY close.
What if You Want to Create Similar Leggings?
While you can’t access Lululemon’s proprietary fabrics, there are ways to create leggings with similar performance, softness, and fit. This is where Blue Associates Sportswear comes in.
We’re a UK-based specialist in premium activewear, helping small brands and start-ups build performance-driven collections in running, cycling, yoga, gym wear, and lother sportswear sectors. Over the last 23 years, we’ve worked closely with many fabric mills across Europe, USA and Asia, including elite suppliers that produce Lululemon fabrics. Our database of fabric mills exceeds 150 individual mills.
In fact, several of our fabric partners have replicated the feel and performance of Nulu™, Luon™, and Luxtreme™, offering brands a competitive alternative to Lululemon’s exclusive lineup.
One of our premium suppliers in Italy has developed an ultra-soft, high-gauge fabric that mirrors the performance and hand-feel of Nulu™, making it ideal for yoga and light-impact leggings. We have several mills in the Asia who have replicated the Nulu™, Luon™, and Luxtreme™ fabrics.
With the right design, fit, and fabric, it’s possible to achieve the buttery softness, stretch, and support that has made Lululemon leggings so iconic.
Manufacturing Without NDAs – A More Open Approach
Unlike the hidden world of Lululemon manufacturing, Blue Associates Sportswear believes in a transparent, collaborative approach. Our production partners are based across Europe and Asia, and we’ve built long-term relationships with high-quality sportswear factories that deliver consistently for premium brands.
Unlike Lululemon’s NDAs, we encourage our clients to visit factories, speak to production teams, and understand the full development process—from prototyping to production. This openness allows new brands to learn, evolve, and build better products with confidence.
Our factories are open to working with our start-ups because they rely on us to do the due diligence on the business concept and founder. We are therefore very selective about who we take on as a start-up and make sure the founder and concept have potential to grow.
We are therefore looking for brands that understand the value of a long-term partnership and grow together so the factory have an ability to enjoy the rewards of larger orders as you grow. Factories sont make enough margins on 1st orders from a start-up, especially with the small MOQ’s we offer.
If your goal is to create high-end leggings that rival the quality of Lululemon, we can guide you through the entire journey, including:
-
Fabric selection (with access to mills offering Nulu™-like fabrics)
-
Technical design and garment development
-
Sampling and wear testing
-
Production at scale with ethical, sustainable factories
-
Branding, labelling, and packaging
We also offer our start-up clients marketing support, photography and web build so you maintain the quality over and above the product.
What Makes a Great Legging?
The secret behind a great legging doesn’t lie in just one factor—it’s the combination of fabric, fit, function, and finish. Lululemon has mastered all four, and you can too with the right partner.
Here’s what to focus on:
1. Fabric
Choose a soft, high gauge knit that blends nylon/elastane or polyester/elastane for stretch and recovery. Our mills in Italy and Asia offer world-class options for this.
The fabric needs to have a high-power elastane to provide the required stretch and support. It’s the quality of the elastane that makes a great legging fabric rather than the quantity.
2. Fit
Lululemon invests heavily in ergonomic pattern cutting. We use 3D fitting tools and wear tests to match this level of comfort and movement. We also fit the samples on perfect medium fitting models and grade from there to maintain a perfect fit across multiple sizes.
3. Function
Seam placement, sweat-wicking capability, and squat-proofing are all crucial. We incorporate these into every development.
4. Finish
Flatlock stitching, soft touch elastics, and laser-cut edges help deliver a clean, premium feel—hallmarks of true performance wear.
Can You Compete with Lululemon?
Yes—but not by copying.
Lululemon has spent decades refining its brand, fabrics, and manufacturing processes. The goal isn’t to imitate but to create your own premium activewear with comparable quality and unique brand identity.
At Blue Associates Sportswear, we help ambitious brands do exactly that. Whether you’re launching a new line of leggings, building a full activewear collection, or simply want a second opinion on your tech packs, we’re here to support you at every stage.
Why Work With Blue Associates Sportswear?
We’ve been designing and developing premium performancewear since 1997. Our clients include startups, scale-ups, and established brands across the globe. We focus exclusively on performance sportswear—so everything from cycling bibs to yoga leggings is within our wheelhouse.
Here’s what sets us apart:
-
Dedicated design and development team in the UK
-
Global network of proven factories
-
Access to over 150 exclusive fabric mills
-
Small MOQ (minimum order quantity) for new brands
-
Transparent process with full support from design to delivery
-
Marketing and launch support
We don’t just build products—we build long-term brand success in the activewear space.
So, who makes the Lululemon legging? The real answer: elite, NDA-bound factories you’ll never see advertised. The fabrics? Proprietary and exclusive. But that doesn’t mean you can’t develop your own version of a high-quality legging.
With the right partners, fabrics, and know-how, you can deliver products that rival the best in the market—and build a brand with its own identity and loyal following.
Blue Associates Sportswear is here to help you do just that.
Ready to Create the Next Best Legging?
Reach out to our team to start your activewear development journey. Whether it’s leggings, performance tops, or cycling kits—we’ve got the expertise and supply chain to make it happen.