Designing a High-Tech Bra

Forme Science's activewear got a boost from Taylor Swift, driving record sales.

- By Anne Marie Chaker

ENTREPRENEUR STEPHEN LIU ISN'T YOUR TYPICAL Swiftie, but the 65-year-old former orthopedic surgeon is definitely a fan of what superstar Taylor Swift has done for his apparel business, Forme Science. After she was photographed wearing the company’s patented posture-correcting bra during rehearsals for her Eras Tour, sales jumped 400 percent last year. “She was on the Eras Tour everywhere, and apparently that’s a big thing,” he says.

Forme wasn’t created to set fashion trends. The idea came about after Liu watched his mother battle late-stage cancer. As her condition progressed, her posture deteriorated. Her shoulders slumped and her rib muscles weakened. Because of this, her breathing became increasingly labored. Liu’s son, Seiji, 32, a Harvard and Wharton School graduate who worked as a finance professional and now serves as Forme’s co-founder and chief operating officer, recalls seeing his father physically pulling his grandmother's shoulders back so she could breathe.

FORME SCIENCE Lakewood Ranch, Florida Forme makes a wide range of high-tech activewear, including patent-pending socks designed to either support the arch or stabilize the ankle, depending on the style.