Month: July 2025

Athleisure brand Lulumelon has filed a lawsuit against Costco alleging that the wholesaler manufactured and sold “knockoff” and “dupe” products in a deliberate attempt to confuse customers, according to a lawsuit reviewed by People.

The lawsuit, filed in California on June 27, alleges that Costco’s Kirkland brand “unlawfully traded” on Lululemon’s “reputation, goodwill, and sweat equity by selling unauthorized and unlicensed apparel employing knockoff, infringing versions” of “pioneering [Lululemon] products.” Costco is specifically accused in the lawsuit of stealing from Lulumelon the concepts of its Danskin Ladies Half-Zip Hoodie, Danskin Half-Zip Pullover, Jockey Ladies Yoga Jacket, Spyder Women’s Yoga Jacket, Hi-Tec Men’s Scuba Full Zip, and the Kirkland 5 Pocket Performance Pant. Those items sold for around $20 at Costco, whereas at Lululemon, the cost started at around $120.

“Costco has unlawfully traded upon Plaintiffs’ reputation, goodwill, and sweat equity by selling unauthorized and unlicensed apparel employing knockoff, infringing versions of Plaintiffs’ well-known trade dress and design patents (the ‘Infringing Products’) and to recover fully for the monetary damages and significant harm to lululemon’s brands and reputation caused by Defendant,” the lawsuit alleges. Lululemon added that it filed the lawsuit as “intellectual property enforcement” towards “retailers who have chosen to copy rather than compete.”

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Lululemon cited as evidence of their claim a popular trend amongst social media users to promote the “knockoff” products under the hashtag “Lululemondupes.” They also pointed to a January 2025 Washington Post article entitled, “Is That Hoodie a Lululemon or a Costco Dupe? No One Has to Know But You.”

“The Infringing Products create an improper association with Plaintiffs’ authentic products,” the lawsuit claims. Costco’s products “are difficult to distinguish from authentic Lululemon products,” which the athleisure company claims resulted in “intellectual property rights and damage” to its “hard-earned reputation and immense goodwill.”

“One of the purposes of selling ‘dupes’ is to confuse consumers at the point-of-sale and/or observers post-sale into believing that the ‘dupes’ are Plaintiffs’ authentic product when they are not,” the lawsuit claims. “As a direct and proximate result of the foregoing acts, Plaintiffs have suffered and will continue to suffer significant injuries in an amount to be determined at trial.”

Lululemon is looking to “recover fully” an as-yet-unspecified sum of money from Costco. It also wishes to prohibit the wholesaler from producing further “dupes” in the future. Representatives for Lululemon and Costco did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Men’s Journal.

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On June 30, Will Smith, 56, shared a saucy photo to celebrate the 26th anniversary of his cult classic steampunk fantasy Wild Wild West (1999).

“Wild Wild West came out 26 years ago today—sorry this is the only photo I could find,” Smith captioned a picture of himself on the set, which features the actor fully nude and holding a cowboy hat over his most sensitive bits. Rather hilariously, Smith seemingly took a screenshot of the picture from Getty Images, as the photographer’s credit remains emblazoned over his chest.

Smith’s posted snap is from a saucy moment early on in the picture in which he and a character played by Garcelle Beauvais (a future Real Housewife of Beverly Hills) become amorous in the town water tank. But really, the date is a ruse for Smith to spy on a group of bootleggers whom he hopes to foil. Things go awry when the water tank collapses, sending a naked Smith falling to the ground in front of the criminals. “My favorite scene,” one fan commented. “Explanation not needed.”

Wild Wild West, directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, was released on June 30, 1999, to dire reviews. Smith starred as James West, a federal agent who must team up with U.S. Marshal Artemus Gordon (Kevin Kline) and a showgirl (Salma Hayek) to stop a madman (Kenneth Branagh) who wants to destroy the world with a mechanized spider. Based upon the 1960s television series which starred Robert Conrad and Ross Martin, Sonnenfeld’s adaptation of Wild Wild West was largely considered to have missed everything which worked about the original show. Despite the horrific reviews, the movie grossed over $220 million worldwide and has gone on to become a cult classic.

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