Lara Smith, an economics major, cut her teeth at two of the biggest fashion houses in the world – Ralph Lauren and Gucci – and quickly worked her way up as a senior executive at some of Canada’s largest retailers.
There, she traveled the globe to discover and create innovative apparel solutions that would make a difference in the lives of her women audience.
Tackling problem solving apparel solutions for women goes back 25 years for the CEO of Lusomé.
But it wasn’t until Lara watched her sister battle with breast cancer and the uncomfortable, long-term side effects that resulted from her treatments that she set out to find the most important solution of all – a solution to preventing overheating and night sweats in the clothing that is meant to make us feel beautiful.
Lara looked throughout North America and Europe for a sleep brand with beautiful style and fabrics, but they were using 100% polyester and chemicals in the finishing process. Not to mention, their cooling technology never truly worked.
That’s when Lara decided to create her own solution, one that fuses beauty, comfort and science.
And Lusomé was born.
Smith was born and raised in Edmonton. She went to the University of Alberta studying economics.
“I wanted to get into the business side of fashion always from a young age,” she says.
“It was actually a movie I saw. I can’t remember what it was but the behind the scenes, how they decided on colours or garments, how did that whole process end up for what we would see in store windows of high end designer stores, that interested me.
“So my first job out of university was actually in the Gucci department at Holt Renfrew, working directly with the buyer. And that just kind of solidified my passion for the business part of the industry.”
The power of the customer experience
From there, Smith worked at Eaton’s in the buying office and then she became a Vice President with the Northern Group which had at the time Northern Reflections and Northern Traditions.
“It was a billion-dollar company when I was there,” she says. “And then I came to Calgary to run the women’s division of Mark’s Work Wearhouse in 2004.
“What I ended up discovering early in my career was the power of the purchase, or creating something for someone that would make them feel better about themselves.”
When she was a buyer at Eaton’s, the senior management at Christmas would make all the buyers work on the retail floor where it all comes together.
“I was working at the Sherway Gardens store at Eaton’s and this very distraught woman came in, just beside herself. She had to go to this holiday party. She just got dumped by her then boyfriend. She was feeling horrible about herself and we ended up finding a dress that was in the wrong colour. She said it actually felt good but if they could only have it in black. I searched the city, found it in black and I delivered it to her home the next morning,” says Smith.
“And the power of how it turned around just her whole psychology of feeling horrible about herself and then feeling amazing about a dress and that level of customer service, it was powerful. The human experience and the psychology around why women bought or what made them feel good about themselves. So that was always in me to create something either purposeful, either products or innovation that helps women in particular feel better about themselves.”
Vision comes to life with Lusomé
Her vision came to life through Lusomé, now a 12-year-old pajama brand that promotes the health and sleep of its wearers through first-of-its-kind technology that stops night sweats before it starts. While the demand for Lusomé pajamas surged during the pandemic, Smith also fought off a hostile takeover by one of the biggest players in this category.
Post the takeover attempt and in the post COVID health renaissance, she envisioned making a much bigger impact on people’s wellness through sleep. Additional innovations were launched including Temperature Regulating Sheets and a Collagen Infused Sleep Eye Mask.
She was a finalist in the Canadian EY entrepreneur of the year award in 2018.
Recognizing the needs of a predominantly menopausal community seeking solutions, education, and support, Smith and the Lusomé team launched The Sweaty Pillow Community and The Sweaty Pillow Podcast. These initiatives aim to provide evidence-based content to nearly one billion women navigating the complexities of menopause.
“It’s a slow process when you build something. There’s skepticism that a fabric can actually perform and give relief. It took awhile. Now I’m not surprised that menopause is having a moment and women are seeking out smart textiles,” she says.
“Because I knew there was such a demand and there was a captive audience I wasn’t really surprised. It was so desperately needed.
“I like to find purpose and infuse purpose in our culture, helping women, building a community. So it’s more tangible than just the thing. The pajama or the sheets.”
Her leadership style and philosophy involves putting the right people in the right positions and let them do their jobs.
“And have a very entrepreneurial yet accountability culture. There’s no hiding. I make mistakes all the time. I want us to take risks. I want us to understand if we called it wrong why and what happened and what did we learn from it,” says Smith.
“So it’s very much an entrepreneurial culture, make decisions fast, move fast and then be accountable.”
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