Style Insiders: 5 questions with Iviva's Katie Royce

By Flannery Bloom

In this series, The Georgia Straight goes behind the scenes with fashion professionals to explore the workings of the local fashion industry.

Katie Royce is a Kwantlen fashion design graduate and is currently working as a design assistant for Iviva, a company created by Lululemon, dedicated to creating outerwear and activewear for young girls. At Iviva, Katie is a part of the design team for the “on field pod” which is focused on designing for girls in sports such as soccer and track and field.

1. How did you get to where you are today?

“I had an idea of what I wanted to do, I knew it was arts related [and] in the creative field, I just didn’t know how to get there. I did one year of schooling at Thompson Rivers University, in general studies. Basically, I first realized what I didn’t want to do. I [then] did some research about schools and remembered during high school we [her class], went to the Kwantlen grad fashion show. I applied (to Kwantlen) and got in to the fashion design program. During school, I became more interested in children’s wear. In my fourth year, I interned at MEC and worked with the women’s and children’s designer, and that’s when I became more interested in outerwear and activewear [and] got the idea to do girls activewear for my grad line. [After graduating] I applied at lululemon, [then] another position came along, for Iviva, [which is exactly] what I wanted.”

2. What is a typical workday like for you?

“A typical day at work…is not a typical day at work, which is nice because you never get bored. I go through my emails in the morning. On Mondays, as a team we usually go through what the week looks like and who’s going to work on what task.”

3. What is your favourite thing about your job?

“I get to create things for girls that they actually need and we actually listen to their feedback, we’re all about our guest feedback and they thank us and [say] that this is exactly what they need [for things like] dance or soccer.”

4. What is the most challenging thing about your work?

“You’re always being challenged in your work, [such as] how could you make your designs more intentional. For me, it’s even just speaking up in meetings”

5. Who or what is your biggest inspiration, fashion or otherwise?

“I look at everything on the runway, every season. I really like Helmut Lang [and] Stella McCartney. There’s a variety… [Of people who inspire her].