Shannon Savage

Lululemon stretches innovative styling to running apparel line.

What is you background and how long have you been with Lululemon?
I’ve been at Lululemon for four and a half years. Prior to that, I designed outerwear and street wear. I went to college in Vancouver. My mom used to sew, so I was surrounded by clothing and crafty things. I’ve also always been an athlete, but I’m really petite and can’t find clothes that fit me. I’ve tried architectural engineering and stage craft and costumes, but it’s clothing that I understand. There is always a purpose for everything you’re designing.

Tell us about your customer.
Our muse is a 32-year-old woman. She’s successful and very active. She works really hard and plays really hard. Her clothing has to be cross-functional. In running, it’s exactly the same customer. We noticed that active yogis and gym-goers are running all the time. It’s the perfect trio of activities. We had a successful running launch last August.

What are the functional benefits in your running apparel?
Regardless of two miles or 21 miles, performance needs to be the same. In running, you need pockets. It differs from yoga and gym in that there is so much you need to carry on your self. Instead of a running belt, we build it into our clothing. In our fall line, the bottoms have room for two hidden gel packets in the front, and one in the back waistband. You can also customize the garment, making it tight on the hips or looser. We also put meshing in armpits. In pullovers, we have a “cuffin”, a cuff that turns into a mitten. We put ponytail holes in jackets for running to set your ponytail free. It adds extra value.

What fabrics do you use?
For fall, we have a reflective running fabric. Typically you see reflective taping that makes it look really technical, but not everyone wants a fully taped tech jacket for the office. We’ve taken reflective fibers and weaved them so you can’t tell where they hit. We have it in our Speed Short, Groovy Short, Track Jacket and Track Pants. X-Static also does extremely well for us. It prevents bacteria build up to prevent body odor.

What are your favorite Lululemon pieces?
Running is my favorite. I live close the beach so I run in the Swiftly Tech top. It is short-sleeved and seamless. I love that it’s heathered and really lightweight. It’s your favorite t-shirt that you can run in and wear to work. I also love the Run: Speed Short. It’s cute, really short, with a signature line across the bum with venting. I wear them all the time.

What is new in outerwear?
Down jackets are quite successful for us. This fall, we’re doing a reversible puffy vest. Its two looks in one. For winter, we’re doing an insulated windbreaker for really cold climates. People asked for it. It is really lightweight because temperature can change really fast. There is tons of venting in it with zips in the front.

What about your men’s business?
We’re getting closer to defining our male guest. It’s predominately a gym and small running line. But men are wanting more CrossFit. It is almost like old school boxing combining kettle bell and hard core weightlifting. We host design meetings anywhere we have stores, and we find women doing it too. It’s really abrasive and hard on your clothing with the gripping and lifting. We can’t have tops that snag and we need more abrasion-resistant clothing. There needs to be room to move. We’re working on it for Winter 2011.

Any certain colors your female buyers like?
We try to have a bright, juicy palette, but we were getting quite obnoxious, so now we’re going into saturated pastels. Women love pink, aqua and turquoise — our customer cannot get enough of it. Turquoise is always number one.

Anything else to add?
A lot more people are getting involved in destination races. Traveling to a race is so common now. Some have every other weekend booked going all over North America. It’s interesting how an athlete plans their wardrobe to travel. It depends on how easy it is to pack, not wash, and then wear again and re-pack. A lot of thought goes into what gets taken when you are going to more than one city for more than one race. And it’s not just elite athletes either; it’s the girl next door. l

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