Lululemon Just Fixed the Biggest Flaw with Its Travel Blazer

The latest version of Lululemon’s New Venture Blazer features a small but necessary change that makes the jacket easier to wear in different settings.

Lululemon New Venture Button-Front Blazer shown on model wearing white dress shirt against a blue background

By Ben Bowers

Published October 8, 2024

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What kind of brand should be known for making excellent Travel blazers? Should it be a menswear brand with decades of suit construction knowledge and mastery over techniques like draping? Or a performance apparel brand armed with insights and access into the latest technical fabrics?

The truth is, I’ve seen both kinds of clothing companies produce solid takes on the category over the years. What’s strange, though, is how rare it is to see one type of clothing maker learn much from the other side’s approach.

Lululemon’s previous travel blazer – technically the only blazer the company made for men – used to be a perfect example of this bizarre pattern until now.

Pushing the wrong buttons

Lululemon New Venture Blazer in white being worn by a male model with a shave head wearing matching white pants and a t-shirt — The previous version of Lululemon’s New Venture Blazer featured more modern snapping style budgets that make it look cheap.

The best travel blazers can pass for an ordinary blazer, at least from a distance, while offering at least one, if not several, practical conveniences that come from technical fabrics.

Lululemon’s previous New Venture Blazer had all the versatility and low-maintenance qualities that make travel blazers great on the road. A polyester and elastane blend made it stretchy, wrinkle-resistant, and water-repellant. It was extremely easy to care for, given that it was fully machine washable and could emerge wrinkle-free right out of the dryer.

A close up shot of the integrated hand pockets of the Lululemon New Venture Button-Front Blazer. A hand is shown sliding into the navy jackets pocket. — Lululemon’s updated New Venture Button-Front Blazer still features the same nicely integrated pockets as the original.

The design incorporated nice touches, too, like a zippered security pocket and a nicely integrated pair of hand warmer pockets. And the complete package cost less than $200.

But presumably, to emphasize the jacket’s modern and advanced capabilities, Lululemon decided to equip it with snap-style buttons that you usually find on vinyl raincoats and parkas.

While the buttons didn’t ruin the jacket’s look per se, they did cheapen it and make the piece feel more out of place in traditional business settings.

Second time’s the charm

Lululemon New Venture Button-Front Blazer shown in black being worn on a black male model wearing a forest green sweater underneath. — As the name implies, the New Venture Button-Front Blazer features more traditional fasteners, making it look more like a standard sport coat. Otherwise, it still features the same technical features that made the first version appealing.

Someone at Lululemon must’ve recognized the miscue and decided to fix it. Or maybe they just felt inspired to add back a classic detail that makes travel blazers from traditional menswear brands so versatile.

The company’s aptly named New Venture Button-Front Blazer swaps out the snap buttons for two traditional-looking fasteners while maintaining all of the modern details that made the original New Venture Blazer appealing.

It’s a small change that better aligns the blazer with the boarding gate-to-board room context most travel blazers aspire to reach.

If you’re interested, it’s available now in navy and black for the same asking as the original version. We won’t be surprised if lighter spring and summer patterns are introduced sometime next year, too.