When working in Lululemone in 2005, Laura Lo AH Ki and Shannon Savez were found, the Athletic Apparel brand in Vancouver, Canada was not yet a global phenomenon which is today.
Image Credit: Courtesy of left on Friday. Laura Lo AH, left, and Shannon Savez, Right.
“Ethleicure ‘the word’ Ethleicure ‘was yet to,” Savage tells entrepreneur“This whole world of women’s athletic costumes was not yet present. So it was a really good time to join the company, and we always loved this active lifestyle and product and fashion.”
Both Lo Ah Ki and Savez played an executive role in Lululemon; Lo Ah went to “many trips” during her tenure, but mainly focused on merchandising, and Savez worked towards the design.
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After a relaxation spent partially spent in Surfing and Citeboarding, the inspiration was holding with a barbaric of ah when inspired. She wore a lululemon sports bra in exchange for specific swimwear for all her water activities as she did not perform other products on the market. What if they take advantage of their expertise to make fashion and work merged swimwear?
The two continued their career in Lululemon and worked on their passion product, coming with a detailed list of what he wanted in an ideal bathing suit. But it was not until he left his job in the Atlasyor veteran that he became serious about starting a business.
“We wanted a name in which one part was indifference and one part is pure ease.”
In 2017, a “fluff” swimwear industry, which was still not designing fashion-forward, high-performing products, which they wanted to see, co-founders seized the opportunity to launch their own premium active swimwear brand: on Friday, left in Victoria, Canada.
“Both Laura and I are the last weekend warriors,” says Savez, “and we always leave for a adventure work.
Image Credit: Courtesy of left on Friday
Co-founders knew that “any great product begins with great fabric,” so they set to find one that could address many major issues that they saw within the current swimwear market.
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When wet and dried, the fabric had to be compressed and provided “smoothing coverage”. “We really found that most of them float there, once it gets wet, you feel quite naked, but are not naked in a luxurious way,” Savez explains. “It shows every lump and bump.”
Additionally, the material must be sustainable enough to catch an active lifestyle without sacrificing the handfill. The goal was to design with a cloth that “as soon as you touch it, you like, I need to place it on my body, I want to experience this product“Saavez says.
A lot of testing and error went to find the fabric that could do all this. Co-founders ordered to experiment with countless clothing; A friend’s mother sewed the first designs at her basement, and low ah and Savage tested them from the desert to the beach. Finally, they landed on their smoothing dream fabric.
“It began as a bikini side project and then left on Friday.”
Then it was a matter of coming with a line of styles that each served a different purpose. Co-founders nurtured their business self-funding, invested their own money in clothes, inventory and “made the best product possible.” “Shannon and I really make up, (but) more than the workload (Udham) vs. Udham, receive money,” missing the low ah. “It began as a bikini side project and then left on Friday.”
By taking advantage of its wide existing skill sets at Activewear Space, low AH KEE and Savage launched their business online – and it was “immediately profitable.” On Friday, the Left continued to grow self-funded for some time through his ecommerce channel, but finally, co-founder “wanted a board of advisors with the skin in the game.”
“The goal of the advisors was to get some advice, to keep us accountable, to pull us out of day to day, in which we were too much,” let’s tell ah. “So we surrounded ourselves with three incredible advisors, whom we knew from our community, and they put a little money.”
Image Credit: Courtesy of left on Friday
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When the epidemic hit was left on Friday, the supply chain challenges had to navigate, but the brand eventually became stronger and raised more money on the other side.
“We are a very cyclical, seasonal business,” Savage says, “so when you get something like a pressure cooker of Kovid, all supply chains shift, so when we get a huge inventory drop in October, we cannot sell it. It was finished. It was finished. All the time -limited reshuffle, so we did not have money when we had money.”
On Friday, the point has not raised more money than that point, and is the owner of the low AH and the majority of the Savez brand.
“Uniform made such a splash. They were going viral in the Olympic village.”
Another exciting success in 2024 was when left on Friday, designed the official national team uniform for the Volleyball Team of Canada for the Paris Olympics and world tour. Savez prepared a piece that was a brand commitment to fashion And Function: One-shoulder suit freed the players’ weapons.
Image Credit: Coli Rentmester
“This (a) career highlight, life highlight, brand highlight, whatever happened at this stage is everything that is in the biggest sports program of fashion,” says Savez. “Uniform made such a splash. They were going viral in the Olympic village, and everyone was talking about them. From a commercial point of view, we got global awareness.”
On Friday, Left saw an increase of 136% in international traffic during the Olympics and according to the company, in the beginning of 2025, there was an increase in continuous sales of 67% in its original Canada. The brand renewed its partnership with the team for one and four years through 2028.
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In response to the customer’s demand, it was left on Friday, other premium activewear has also been expanded, from sweatshirts to tights, playsuits and more, having their dedication to fashion and performance at the forefront of every design.
Now, there is an eight-sky brand left on Friday, and is ready to increase its continuous increase in low AH and the Savez Premium Activor Arena-and the opportunity to provide products that fit in women’s active lives.
“I think there is still a very unused ability in the market, the costume and in general,” says Savez. “This is a very intimate place. Not everyone always feels comfortable in that place, so I think we are building this product (who have the ability to live their best life, if it is an Olympian or if it is just going out and playing some casual volleyball on the beach.”
