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The story behind the series: 2017 Holiday Series – A classic dialogue between timeless style and modern sports
When the neon lights of the holiday season first bloomed, Flexlara’s 2017 Holiday Series redefined the boundaries of sportswear with a silent and elegant revolution. This series, which carries the brand’s original intention, is not only a seasonal creation, but also the first systematic interpretation of the concept of “sports is life”—from the rhythm of breathing on the yoga mat to the swaying of the skirt at the Christmas dinner, each piece tells the philosophy of balance between function and aesthetics.
Design origin: When the pulse of the city meets yoga meditation
In 2017, the design team captured the potential demand of modern women for “boundaryless dressing” in the collision of inspiration between the two cities of New York and Sydney. “We wanted to create clothing that can seamlessly transition from morning exercise to party,” the then creative director recalled in an interview, “so we combined the architectural lines of Manhattan with the yoga energy of Bondi Beach, and used soft gray, burgundy and navy blue to create a color system that is both powerful and soft.”
Key design language:
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Architectural silhouette: Lines are extracted from the steel structure of New York’s High Line Park to form a neat fold at the shoulder of the Urban jacket;
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Zen details: Drawing on the fabric folds during yoga meditation, the waistband of the SculptFit leggings is designed to have a natural drape;
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Light and shadow game: The matte and glossy splicing of burgundy fabrics simulates the flickering effect of holiday lights.
Star items: functional aesthetics verified by time
▍1. SculptFit tights: the birth of dynamic sculptures
As the soul item of the series, this pair of tights uses the innovative “gradient compression technology” at the time—the pressure of 25hPa at the waist gradually transitions to 15hPa at the ankles, which not only ensures muscle support during squats, but also allows the wearer to stay comfortable while shopping. An early user wrote in his feedback: “When I ran to the supermarket to buy turkey on Christmas Eve, this set of tights actually met the decent needs of sprinting and meeting neighbors at the same time.”
▍2. Energise sports bra: a minimalist support revolution
Breaking the heavy impression of traditional sports bras, Energise is designed with cross straps and honeycomb ventilation holes, which can keep you fresh even in the hot dance parties during the Christmas season. It is particularly worth mentioning that its “temperature memory” lining—it will automatically adjust the humidity according to body temperature after contacting the skin for 3 seconds, solving the pain point of wearing with large temperature differences between indoors and outdoors during the holiday season.
▍3. Versa vest × Urban jacket: a textbook of layered aesthetics
This golden combination defines the “holiday sports casual style”: the ribbed texture of the Versa vest is suitable for wearing alone for yoga, and the detachable fur collar of the Urban jacket can cope with the cold wind on Christmas Eve. The best part is the hidden pocket in the lining of the jacket—just enough to put down a mobile phone, lipstick and gym card, realizing a seamless switch from “gym to party”.
Technical Narrative: When Sports Technology Wears Holiday Dresses
The breakthrough of the 2017 series lies in the transformation of professional sports technology into the language of life scenes:
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Four-way stretch yarn: Derived from surfing suit material, SculptFit leggings can stretch 400% when doing “Warrior Three” while keeping the pants straight;
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Microcapsule fragrance technology: Lavender microcapsules are embedded in the collar of the Urban jacket, and the fragrance is released by friction after exercise, solving the embarrassing sweat smell in holiday social activities;
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Reflective Christmas elements: Snowflake-shaped reflective strips are hidden on the cuffs of the jacket, which is like wearing invisible decorations when going out at night, achieving both safety and aesthetics.
Heritage Continuation: How do classics define the future?
Although the series has been sold out for many years, its core concept still influences Flexlara’s design DNA:
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“3×3 dressing rule”: the matching logic of “3 core items × 3 scenes” proposed in 2017 is still the basis of the brand’s dressing guide;
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Sustainable inspiration: the recycled polyester fiber (derived from ocean plastic bottles) tried for the first time in the series laid the groundwork for the brand’s subsequent environmentally friendly series;
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Cultural symbol: Burgundy has become Flexlara’s “holiday gene color”, and it will be reinterpreted with new materials every Christmas season.
Echoes from 2025:
The current designer said in the interview of the retro series: “When we saw the design manuscripts from 2017 in the archive, the most shocking thing was that the team had realized at that time that the ultimate freedom of sportswear is to allow women to confidently show the rhythmic beauty of their bodies in any occasion.”
Conclusion: The essence of the holiday series is the ritual of life
The real legacy of the 2017 holiday series is to prove that sportswear can carry both functional and emotional value—when you wear SculptFit leggings to do downward dog in front of the Christmas tree, or run in the New Year’s Eve fireworks in an Urban jacket, these moments define Flexlara’s understanding of “holiday”: not to pause life, but to make every action a ritual worth celebrating.
When exploring the brand’s latest series today, you can still meet the soul of 2017 in the details—perhaps the shoulder line of a jacket, or the waist design of a pair of leggings. These echoes across time are the best interpretation of “eternal style”.