By Cydney Shapiro
But right now, lululemon is facing significant challenges. Its stock has fallen sharply this year, and investors are questioning whether the company’s leadership can restore its momentum. In a September message to employees, Heidi O’Neill emphasized a return to the brand’s core identity through innovative, distinctive products.
So when lululemon launched its GANNI collaboration on October 15 alongside a high-energy dance campaign, I couldn’t help but wonder: is lululemon taking a page from Gap’s comeback playbook? The similarities are worth exploring.
How Gap Rebuilt Brand Excitement
Between 2021 and 2023, Gap experienced considerable leadership turnover while struggling with declining sales and fading brand relevance. The company needed a new direction and a reason for consumers to pay attention again.
In 2024, Gap began rebuilding excitement through culturally relevant music, dance and fashion collaborations. Its campaigns featured Tyla and Jungle in early 2024, followed by Troye Sivan, Parker Posey and KATSEYE. Each brought a different cultural personality to the brand, but the campaigns shared a consistent sense of energy and self-expression. Classic white T-shirts and blue denim remained central to the performances, and it’s hard not to be entertained.
Collaborations with contemporary fashion brands such as Cult Gaia and Sandy Liang also brought fresh perspectives to the familiar styles associated with Gap. Together, these initiatives gave consumers new ways to engage with products they already knew.
And the results suggest the approach is working. Gap reported more than 500 million social views for its KATSEYE campaign, while Gap Inc.’s CEO linked the campaign to double-digit denim growth. More recently, the Gap brand reported a 10% increase in comparable sales in the second quarter of 2026.
The results suggest Gap is rebuilding its market appeal. By maintaining a consistent creative direction and choosing collaborations that connect with contemporary culture, the brand has found its way back into the conversation.
Given Gap’s success, I’d be surprised if its comeback hasn’t attracted attention at lululemon. The similarities in their approaches are hard to ignore: celebrity partnerships, fashion-forward collaborations and high-energy dance films designed to rebuild interest and demand.
To me, lululemon has found a compelling way to bring that creative approach into its own brand identity. And with competitors such as Alo attracting attention through more fashion-forward and aspirational positioning, the GANNI partnership makes sense.
Fashion Meets Function in the GANNI Collaboration
Featuring GANNI’s signature leopard print, the collection brings a playful, fashion-forward perspective to lululemon’s technical clothing. Inspired by the brands’ shared love of movement and dance, the collaboration uses those themes to bring the product story to life.
Casting Flashdance star Jennifer Beals alongside performer METTE connects different generations through a shared cultural reference. The short film, launched across social media and lululemon’s website, brings fresh energy to the brand and reinforces its positioning where fashion meets functionality.
Lululemon began teasing the collection on social media ahead of its launch, building anticipation among consumers. Other creative details carry the campaign’s story from discovery through to shopping: models posing in dance stretches on product pages, boleros and leg warmers incorporated into the styling, and social channels adopting the collaboration’s colours and visual themes.
ELLE also published an interview with GANNI creative director Ditte Reffstrup and lululemon global creative director Jonathan Cheung, exploring how the partnership brings performance and style together.
Initial demand appears strong, with some styles selling out quickly online and the collaboration attracting considerable media attention. It’s too early to assess the broader commercial impact, but I think it’s a promising direction. Partnerships like GANNI could play a larger role in how lululemon rebuilds excitement around its products and connects with fashion-conscious consumers.
Bringing the Campaign to Life Through Club Dance
What I think took this launch to the next level, and made it feel particularly ownable to lululemon, was how the GANNI x lululemon Club Dance pop-up in Brooklyn brought the collaboration to life through the brand’s community-focused roots.
Lululemon shared a public invitation with its social media community to “Come Dance,” inviting people to experience the collaboration over three days. The event featured free daytime dance classes with instructors and evening parties with DJs. METTE and Jennifer Beals attended the launch night, which featured dance performances choreographed by Kristin Sudeikis, creating an infectious mix of music, movement and nostalgic 1980s energy.
Guests could browse the 22-piece collection while dancing the night away. The event brought together the fashion, music and movement that defined the campaign, giving people an opportunity to experience the collaboration beyond a screen.
Images from Club Dance show attendees expressing their personal style, mixing collection pieces with more avant-garde fashion and leaning into 1980s nostalgia. The colours, styling and energy carried the campaign into a real community experience, making the “joy of movement” something people could actually participate in.
To me, this is where lululemon’s approach becomes particularly interesting. The brand has long built its identity around movement, wellness and community, and Club Dance brought those ideas into a fashion-focused setting that felt fresh and relevant.
There are also broader trends at work, including the growing influence of dance and the popularity of activewear that doubles as streetwear. Hailey Bieber’s collaboration with activewear brand Adanola draws on her love of ballet and the dancer-off-duty aesthetic. Like GANNI x lululemon, the collection reflects an interest in clothing that moves between active pursuits and everyday fashion.
Personally, as someone who loves dance and leans more fashion-forward, I’m naturally more engaged, entertained and moved by these campaigns. They also make me more inclined to buy the clothes.
So if lululemon’s next chapter includes more product collaborations and dance-led campaigns, I’m here for it. Gap has demonstrated how a consistent creative direction can help restore excitement around an established brand, and lululemon has an opportunity to build on its own heritage of movement and community while introducing a fresh fashion perspective.
The challenge will be sustaining that excitement beyond the initial launch and turning consumer attention into lasting demand. For now, GANNI x lululemon feels like an encouraging start.
About the Author: Cydney Shapiro
Cydney Shapiro is a brand and marketing consultant with 20 years of experience helping premium retail and hospitality brands grow. Her background includes leadership roles with Aritzia, JOEY Restaurants and Moxies Restaurants, where she contributed to digital transformation, brand development and market expansion. She currently consults through Upper Story Branding, advising businesses on brand and marketing strategy. [Cydney Shapiro’s Substack]
