Left On Friday, a premium Canadian swimwear brand, has opened two pop-up stores for the summer months, is going to be adding to its collection, and is looking at expanding. The brand designs swimwear with athletes in mind and is sponsoring the Canada’s National Women’s Beach Volleyball team in 2024.
“We believe that the best life is an active life. This philosophy drives everything we do at Left On Friday, our mission is to create swimwear that not only looks good, but also performs exceptionally well in any active setting. Whether you are swimming, playing beach volleyball, or simply enjoying a day at the beach – our products are designed to support and enhance your active lifestyle. We are committed to inclusivity, ensuring that our swimwear fits a wide range of body types, so everyone can feel confident and comfortable – we strive to make every day feel like a Friday,” says Shannon Savage, the co-founder of Left On Friday.
The two new pop-up locations are in Toronto on Ossington Avenue, open through til mid-September, and in Muskoka on Port Carling, open through til Labour Day weekend.
Both locations are designed to stand out with its colourful swimwear and provide an opportunity for consumers to try on products. The stores will be featuring Left On Friday’s top selling products as well as new collections. As the location in Muskoka is in cottage country, the store aims to provide a summer cottage vibe with an all-white interior showcasing the colourful swimsuits. Both locations also have custom made surfboards from a collaboration with Jimmy Lewis.
“Toronto was an obvious choice and it was the top city we wanted to be in as well along with the Muskoka location. Our goal has always been to make the shopping experience easy, and people want to try the suit on. We know what happens once a customer comes into the space, touches the bathing suit, and tries it on – typically, they leave with one. We will also be running community activations out of the store and that is really exciting that our customers and community can participate in,” says Laura Low Ah Kee, the co-founder of Left On Friday.
Left On Friday will have similar events as last year in Muskoka which included pilates on the deck, water ski clubs, and different workouts.
About the brand
Left On Friday was founded six years ago when Savage and Kee, with an extensive background in the apparel industry, particularly with Lululemon, wanted to create swimwear that is not only stylish, but also highly functional and is suitable for a variety of activities from swimming to beach sports.
“We both left Lululemon for different reasons and we entered into the market with our swimsuits. We got really clear that no one was making beautiful bathing suits to sell for both fashion and function that you can be active in and hang out in, and nobody was applying the knowledge of fabric and fit that we knew from Lululemon to the industry, so that is how we got the idea,” says Kee.
The brand offers a wide variety of sizes to meet each consumer’s needs, ensuring everyone who walks in can find a swimsuit that will be comfortable and match their needs.
“In a world of bathing suits, there are fashionable bathing suits and then there are functional bathing suits. Our goal is to make one bathing suit that sells for fashion and function in a really premium way. Can you be active in it? Do you feel powerful in it? Is it cute enough? Will you wear it to a pool party and on vacation? It is really about that one suit that can do everything,” says Kee.
Savage says consumers are able to also mix and match to create their own bathing suit style: “It is an amazing opportunity to put their suits together. We never set out to create the one hit wonder of the season, our point was to create a line that she could count on and come back to again and again, so it’s like the timeless classics.”
In addition to bathing suits, the brand has recently added clothing options such as “beach essentials” including tops, pants, and accessories.
“The best life an active life”
All swimsuits at Left On Friday are made for both activity and casual wear, Savage says they place a lot of time into designing the swimsuits to ensure the suit is appropriate for both. To ensure quality, Savage and Kee say they use a variety of athletes to test products for sports such as volleyball, surfing, kayaking, and more.
The fabric used on products is Smoothing Dream and is sourced from Italy. Savage says the fabric is compressive, both when wet and dry. The fabric is also resistant to fading in the sun and can survive in chlorine, salt water, and hot tubs: “Our first point of innovation was really just about the fabric that we chose and we placed a lot of effort into defining the fabric that we launched our product with,” says Savage.
As finding a bathing suit can be a difficult process for women, Left On Friday not only makes the process painless, but leaves customers feeling comfortable and excited about their new bathing suits.
“Finding a bathing suit can be a painful process, and our goal is to make the process better and to also make a swimsuit that makes you feel amazing. People are obsessed,” says Kee. “That is why we are so passionate about retail, because the product experience that women have when they actually see the product in person, feel it, and try it on – it is a transformative experience for them and they have just never felt swimwear that makes them feel so good, people have even cried in changing rooms because of how they feel.”
Team Canada sponsorship
Left On Friday is again sponsoring the Canadian Beach Volleyball team at the Olympics. This collaboration has led to new innovations, such as the development of the one-shoulder top designed specifically for each volleyball player. The brand also customizes each swimsuit for the players. Left On Friday has been sponsoring this team since 2022.
“We are sponsoring the entire team and we are super proud of products as it really is the definition of fashion and function. Shannon designed a one-shoulder top, which was based off of their feedback that they love to play in the one-shoulder top and they found it so beautiful to wear. So we designed a custom one-shoulder top, and one girl hits with her right arm, so her strap is on her left. So it is truly an innovation of function and fashion in one,” says Kee.
Expansion plans
Currently, Left On Friday has two pop-up locations, one showroom in Victoria, one location in Vancouver, wholesale locations, and online shopping but Savage and Kee say they would like to expand across Canada.
The brand would be considering opening more locations in Toronto and Vancouver and are looking at Alberta as another possible location as “the products would be a great fit for the activities and lifestyle in the province,” says Kee. The brand would also be exploring the idea of seasonal pop-up stores in various lake towns and other popular summer destinations across Canada and would operate for two or four months.
Outside of Canada, Left On Friday is opening retail locations in Las Vegas and New York with long-term leases of three to five years. Overall, Left On Friday aims to be present in key cities and popular destinations across Canada and internationally, providing a unique and engaging shipping experience for consumers.
“There are so many places where people go where there are big bodies of water, so it would be amazing to have more pop-ups. Women want to do more than just sit in their swimsuits. They want to run around and go on really cool adventures and we believe that the best life is an active life,” says Kee.
Kate Camenzuli of CBRE represents Left On Friday for its retail expansion.
