Juli Lee

Founder and Chief Merchandising Officer, Julianna Rae

Boston

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Juli Lee is co-founder and Chief Merchandising Officer of Julianna Rae (www.juliannarae.com). An industry veteran who has designed and merchandised for leading women’s apparel brands, Juli founded the company fifteen years ago because she recognized there was no lingerie or sleepwear brand that was relevant to or fit the lifestyles of today’s active, successful women. Juli’s inspiration came not just from her experience but from her friends, her family and her co-workers who, all over 30, had graduated from Victoria’s Secret and were looking for a lingerie and sleepwear brand that was not aimed simply at young and thin women. "At a certain point in life a woman expects more," says Lee. "She is attracted by quality fabrics, an excellent fit and an elegance in style that befits the sensibility and self-assurance that she’s achieved in life. She says ‘why can’t I have it all?’ I say she can. So we design to give her functionality, comfort, beauty AND sexy." Born in Taiwan, Juli Lee immigrated to the United States with her family as a young child. Lee received an undergraduate degree from MIT and an MBA from The Sloan School at MIT. She cut her "business" teeth as a retail strategy consultant for premier consulting firms BCG and LEK before assuming leadership positions at internet and technology leaders, Microsoft and EMC/DELL. Her business savvy was put to the test in 2004 when she began laying the foundation for her women’s lingerie company, Julianna Rae. Since then, Julianna Rae has evolved into a major lingerie brand with fervently loyal followers and an enduring cache. Julianna Rae is not Juli’s first endeavor within the fashion industry. Indeed, she has extensive experience in womenswear, having spent time designing for many upscale clothing brands and retailers including Talbots, Saks, Nordstrom, and Victoria’s Secret. Julianna Rae has been featured in the pages of Vogue, Vanity Fair, Glamour, People, WWD and InStyle among others, and featured on TV and in films.