Michelle Cordeiro Grant

Lively, the wire-free bra and bralette label that Japan's Wacoal bought in 2019, was founded in New York in 2016 by Michelle Cordeiro Grant, a merchant who had spent four years at Victoria's Secret. She ran Lively as chief executive until August 2022.

Finance, then merchandising

Cordeiro Grant took a degree in finance at the University of Pittsburgh in 2002 and went into retail merchandising. Her early jobs were at Federated Merchandising Group, the buying arm of the department-store group now known as Macy's, then at May Company, Nautica and V.F. Corp. At Victoria's Secret she worked in digital and merchandising for about four years. She has said that what she saw there was women frustrated with bras chosen for style over comfort.

The old version of this page also placed her at Conde Nast. No source checked confirms that, and it has been removed.

Michelle Cordeiro Grant's mailing list

Lively's launch is the part of her story that business writers retell. She started in 2016 with a list of about 250 email addresses and no product to show. A referral campaign, modeled on the one Harry's used for razors, offered credit to everyone who signed up friends before the product was revealed. The list grew to about 133,000 addresses almost overnight.

The first product was a bralette meant to combine the support of a sports bra with the comfort of pajamas. Every item was priced at 35 dollars. She reasoned that simple pricing mattered more than margin, a pointed contrast with the multi-buy deals and markdowns of mall lingerie.

The word "leisuree"

The brand described its category as "leisuree", a blend of athleisure and lingerie for pieces that could pass as underwear or as gym clothes. Earlier text here said she coined it alone. Coverage of the company says the term came out of feedback from its customer community.

The Wacoal deal, 2019

The community became the marketing plan. By 2019 Lively counted about 80,000 brand ambassadors, ordinary customers rewarded for referrals, and it had opened shops in New York and Chicago.

On 1 August 2019 Wacoal agreed to buy Lively for 85 million dollars up front, with up to 55 million more tied to performance over the following years. Some coverage gives the total as about 105 million. Cordeiro Grant stayed on as chief executive, and Lively gained access to Wacoal's design, factories and distribution.

Stepping back, 2022

In August 2022 Kristin DiCunzolo, vice president of marketing and direct at Wacoal America, took over as Lively's chief executive. Cordeiro Grant moved into a role titled Founder in October 2022, advising the new chief and representing the brand in the media, and left that position in March 2023. At the time she said she planned two new ventures, in wellness and in Web3.

Last updated October 7, 2026