Gen Z is reimagining the iconic 70s brand L'eggs

• American pantyhose brand L'eggs is staging a comeback.
• Parade founder Cami Téllez is the executive creative director.
• Téllez said L'eggs is modernizing for Gen Z shoppers with partnerships and social media campaigns.

More than half a century after L'eggs became a household name, the American hosiery brand is stepping into a new era.

This time, with Gen Z in mind.

Executive creative director Cami Téllez, 27, is working to breathe new life into the brand after finding initial success with her undergarment startup, Parade. Téllez launched Parade in 2019 while still in her early 20s. At its peak, the company was valued at $200 million. It was sold in 2023, and Téllez left the company.

"The opportunity to steer the future legacy of the brand was an exciting challenge — it's an American icon hidden in plain sight, with a substantial business distributed in close to 30,000 stores across the country and has an awareness with 60% of American women," Téllez told Business Insider.

After L'eggs launched in 1969, it quickly became a consumer favorite recognized for its colorful egg-shaped packaging and celebrity-endorsed TV ads.

L’eggs' dominance mellowed by 2006, when Hanes said in an August SEC filing that net sales for its hosiery segment had declined every year since 1995 due to changes in consumer preferences. By late 2021, Hanes said in an SEC filing that it decided to divest its US Sheer Hosiery business — including L'eggs — as a strategy to streamline its portfolio.

Private equity firm Windsong Global acquired L'eggs in October.

Now, the brand's iconic slogan, "Nothing beats a great pair of L'eggs," is something it is trying to prove to modern shoppers, especially in the age of Kim Kardashian's SKIMS. Kardashian's company was valued at $4 billion in July 2023.

"I look at Spanx as being the innovator of modern shapewear. I look at SKIMS as bringing fashion to the shapewear industry, but L'eggs was the OG of hosiery and shapewear brands," Bill Sweedler, Windsong Global's CEO and chairman, told Business Insider.

Téllez echoed that sentiment. She said L'eggs is rooted in a mass-market strategy that aims to attract female shoppers wherever they are.

"We have such a huge opportunity to be able to own the entire fashion foundations category — everything that makes her love her legs, we will be there," Téllez said. "We're starting with tights because it's our DNA, but throughout 2025, we'll bring our solutions innovation into shapewear, leggings, socks, and beyond."

Téllez said L'eggs has a "very loyal existing customer base," but it's hoping to build "a new generation of fans for the brand."

"We'll be approaching growth through a few different areas of focus — product innovation, increased consumer awareness, and distribution to make the product as accessible as possible," she said.

She said L'eggs products would be available in stores like Kohl's and online retailers like Amazon. Téllez said women will be able to find L'eggs at "tens of thousands of existing storefronts," including 1,800 Target stores this spring.

The brand will continue to offer classic collections like Sheer Energy and Silken Mist while introducing new products like its 360 Contour collection.

"We're increasing consumer awareness across generations by meeting our customers where they are — across new channels like community, influencer, and beyond to build a new generation of fans for the brand," Téllez said.

Part of building that new generation of loyal L'eggs enthusiasts is introducing it to young consumers, some of whom may not be familiar with the brand.

"Building a L'eggs community means creating a space where consumers feel connected to the brand's heritage while also feeling empowered to interpret their fashion in their own way," Téllez said.

One of the ways L'eggs plans to do that is by engaging Gen Z and Gen Alpha on social media.

"Inspired by my experience with Parade, we'll focus on two things: creating a dialogue and inspiring expression," Téllez said. "This will involve engaging content, including social media challenges that invite users to share how they style L'eggs, and community-centric activations that bring together diverse voices across all generations — which is critical to the L'eggs DNA as a 55-year-old brand."

The brand also plans to lean into the culture surrounding style and fashion through partnerships.

"This means working with celebrity stylists to incorporate L'eggs into street style, showing how versatile tights can be styled across designer collections," Téllez said. "Collaborating with fashion brands will also play a huge role in extending L'eggs' reach; by aligning with brands known for iconic print and color, we're demonstrating that tights can be central to a contemporary wardrobe."

"By positioning L'eggs alongside industry tastemakers, we're not just present in fashion spaces — we're actively contributing to their narrative," she added.