LYCRA brand history

Always adaptable, LYCRA® fiber began to make its mark in the world of fashion during this turbulent decade of sweeping social change in 1960.

LYCRA® fiber made its international athletic debut in ski suits worn by the French men’s alpine ski team at the 1968 winter games in Grenoble, France.

When Neil Armstrong famously took his first step on the moon’s surface in the summer of 1969, LYCRA® fiber helped to make it possible.

Hats, gloves and formality were replaced with more casual fashions like jeans and turtlenecks by 1970.

The 1972 summer games in Munich, Germany featured LYCRA® fiber in swimwear for the first time.

They began dressing like basketball’s Michael Jordan, whose professional basketball career started in 1984, and other star athletes of the era, whether they played sports or not.

When Donna Karan launched her groundbreaking first collection in 1985, it included “Seven Easy Pieces.” Designed to take busy women from workday to nightlife, the heart of this versatile collection of interchangeable pieces was a flattering bodysuit made with LYCRA® fiber.

LYCRA® fiber became the first synthetic yarn featured in a consumer advertising campaign in 1990.

When the “Nothing Moves like LYCRA®” campaign launched in 1995, it marked the debut of the LYCRA® brand’s wave logo.

Beginning in 2003, LYCRA® fiber could be found outside of apparel for the first time.