Our Journey to Footwear

Today begins the rollout of lululemon blissfeel, our debut running shoe and official entrance into the footwear category. I wanted to take a moment to celebrate the four-year journey to this day—the meticulous research and development, the inspiring creativity and collaboration, and the intentionality from day one.

For every lululemon product we create, we ask ourselves, “how do our guests want to feel, and what problems can we solve for them?” Our first step into footwear was to speak with our guests and research the category to understand unmet needs. We observed that historically, most performance shoes were designed for men and adapted for women, and we heard from women that they wanted shoes to feel like they were made for their feet.

Our unique opportunity became clear. Innovating for women is in lululemon’s DNA—we have over 20 years of insights and expertise creating transformative products for women through our Science of Feel innovation philosophy. By shifting the focus from the shoes to the people wearing them, feeling became the foundation for our approach—as it is with all our products—with the goal to create footwear that made women feel their best across a range of their daily activities.

We assembled a team, pairing lululemon innovators with industry footwear experts, and started the process from scratch. The team analyzed Volumental data from millions of foot scans, worked with leading biomechanics and foot morphology experts, and immersed themselves in the design, materials, and construction. This was followed by countless rounds of wear-testing, feedback, and iterations. Our guests and ambassadors worked with us every step of the way—an approach that has been at the heart of lululemon since the beginning.

We are so proud of the result—a collection of footwear that is a natural extension of our product offering, delivering an unmatched feeling—and eager to hear from our guests. I am grateful for everyone who contributed to this powerful body of work, at every stage of our journey over the past four years, and excited for all that is to come. ?