It’s no secret that sportswear has taken the fashion industry by storm, which is why I embraced the opportunity to sit down with one of the select few that started the craze herself, Lululemon’s Senior Vice President of Woman’s Design and Merchandising, Deanne Schweitzer.
RACHAEL: How long have you been with Lululemon?
DEANNE: I’ve been with them for 15 years. I started at the company as the store manager for Lululemon’s first retail store, in Vancouver.
RACHAEL: Wow! How did your role develop?
DEANNE: As much as I loved learning and growing the brand form, that role, I was often found in the design and development room giving them feedback on what was working and what wasn't working. Not only were the clients telling me what they liked, but I was also an avid athlete that worked out six times a week. Soon I was managing the whole product team with no experience in design or apparel .
RACHAEL: What is your background in?
DEANNE: Kinesiology, but I was selling real estate, I think that says enough!
RACHAEL: Sounds like you’re super driven. What was an average work day like for you?
DEANNE: My weeks would revolve around the following:
- A focus on strategy – working with the executive team and the merchandising teams
- Focus on line planning – building an assortment that would meet the strategy
- Reviewing black and white sketches
- Fittings and prototype presentations
- Travel to the factories and mills
- Travel to trade shows and inspirational travel
- Focus on fabric and trim development/ took part in the innovation teams
RACHAEL: I know the company has grown significantly over the years, but how big is your team?
DEANNE: My team was about 80 people, and consisted of mostly women, but I had male product developers, fabric developers, accessory designers and graphic/print designers.
RACHAEL: Would you say designing sportswear is seasonal like other fashion brands?
DEANNE: I would say it is. We actually think every month of the year has different needs for our clients. For instance June and July can look very different for a runner. We planned our assortment down to the week.
RACHAEL: How do you keep ideas fresh?
DEANNE: How people choose to workout, keeps us on our toes. We always have something new to think about solving for our athletes. When they shift to doing more spin classes than yoga class they required different length tights etc. Watching what they are doing and how their routine changes makes it easy for us to always provide the right active gear.
RACHAEL: Finally you're in London. What took so long?
DEANNE: We took a while to get to London as it is a tough place to get real estate and we were very focused on North America growth before we went abroad.
RACHAEL: Does the line change for different markets?
DEANNE: No not really. We may stock each piece in different quantities according to the market but the product is generally the same. We did however notice our UK customer wants something unique and special, that we found out well before branching out into that market.
RACHAEL: I understand that the brand is Canadian made, is that true?
DEANNE: Most of our product is no longer made in Canada. Lululemon out-grew manufacturing capacity in Vancouver years ago. Most of the line is sourced in Asia. The fabrics are developed in partnership with our fabric mills that are also mostly in Asia but of course both factory and mill sources are growing in diversity.
RACHAEL: Do you test new fabrics?
DEANNE: Are first test is always for comfort, then the durability of the type of thread that’s used and then finally the actual designed product is tested not only for comfort but for performance. Does it do what it says it will do, type thing.
RACHAEL: What would you say is your best talent?
DEANNE: I am always problem solving. In the world of athletic apparel it seems like nothing ever goes to plan and we were always solving something. Lululemon also solves athletic problems (faster wicking, water proof and breathable, UPF etc) I became good at solving problems.