AN overwhelming burst of colour greets customers as they enter the doors of Ivivva Athletica.
A host of bright danceinspired separates adorn the walls and fill racks. Pops of pink, blue and purple stand out, among the favourite hues of the store's target market: younger girls, otherwise known as tweens and teens.
Near the changing rooms is a large raised platform, a builtin runway, situated in front of an equally enormous mirror, making for a fun, girly shopping experience.
Ivivva is one of a number of local stores that has picked up on the trend of the active girl. Interested in catering to the needs of the young lady who does it all, clothing has been designed to not only help her perform to her best, but to get her from point A to point B in a stylish, functional and comfortable manner.
Ivivva was launched in response to the demand by the younger set looking for clothing with the same quality and technical features as Vancouverbased Lululemon Athletica. Lulu's little sister boasts the same quality that consumers have come to know and love, though instead of focusing on yoga and running, Ivivva's activewear (available in girls sizes four to 14) is dance-inspired.
The first Ivivva Athletica opened on West Fourth Avenue in Vancouver in 2009 and has been followed by stores in Calgary, Edmonton and Halifax. More stores are set to open in the coming months across Canada and online sales were recently opened up to the United States via www.ivivva. com.
Ivivva opened its second B.C. location on the North Shore last November at The Village at Park Royal and response from community members has been overwhelming.
"They've (welcomed) us with warm arms and we've created relationships with all the studios. We're really, really excited to be over here and to be part of this community," says Anna Davidson, store manager.
Focused on getting younger girls to move, the brand's athletic apparel (including tanks, leotards, jackets, shorts, crops, pants, skirts, sport bras and accessories) is suited to varying styles of dance, gymnastics or figure skating.
"You can also find clothing for any other activity that girls really want to do," says Davidson.
The brand was created with technical design features and functionality in mind.
"We're really proud of our product in that aspect," says Davidson.
A new Ivivva line that's proving popular is a collaboration with Disney, inspired by the television series Shake It Up.
"Cece and Rocky are the two main characters and they are aspiring professional dancers so it's just to make the connection with the clothes that they're wearing and them," says Davidson. "We've had an overwhelming success with the line. The girls really, really love it."
To further serve the community, the West Vancouver store offers a variety of in-store programming. They put on two spring break workshops, one on musical theatre and a second inspired by Shake It Up, and are now offering free weekly dance classes, Sundays from 9: 30 to 10: 30 a.m. A different style is offered every month. For example, March is jazz month and April is hip hop. While classes are suitable for all levels, the typical age of participants is 10-14. No registration is required. The classes are taught by local dancers who work at the store as well as other instructors who are active in the community. On average, 20-30 girls attend each session.
"Our community is really important to us and the fact that we have . . . professional dancers that work at our store, that they can share the gift of dance with all levels of dancers within our community, it's amazing," says Davidson.
Ivivva is continuing to earn positive accolades from its target market.
Coquitlam resident Liana Barzal, 11, is active in field hockey, dance, cheerleading and soccer.
"I think it's great stretchy clothing for dance," she says. "It's comfortable to wear and you feel very free when you're wearing it. I like the colours, the colours are really bright."
Peer Kristen Inigo, 12, of North Vancouver, likewise has a busy activity schedule, engaging in track and field, volleyball, basketball and dance.
"I like that it's a happy place and it's just really energizing to come in here," she says. "It's really great because the people here are really nice and the clothes are amazing."
Across Marine Drive at Park Royal Shopping Centre's north mall is another store catering to the younger girl. Triple Flip is a Calgary-based retailer and its stretchwear is manufactured in Canada.
"It's about active girls," says Shahina Elva, store manager. "It's that one-stop shop . . . for active girls to find clothing that they're comfortable in, basically from school to sports. We promote an active lifestyle obviously, but it's comfort too and style."
Age appropriateness is also an important consideration.
"I'm a mom so that's a huge thing for me," says Elva.
Her No. 1 seller at the moment is the Valley T, a loosefitting draped top with dolman sleeves that comes in both Triple Flip's activewear fabric and cotton. Customers can choose from a variety of colours, appliqués and stripes.
Their durable leggings are another popular seller.
"They'll grow out of it before anything happens to it," says Elva.
Triple Flip has launched a search for "Flip Girls" to be featured in a local photo shoot for the store April 15. Girls of all ages and sizes who are fans are invited to put their name in through the company's website, www.tripleflip.ca, and 24 winners will be chosen by random draw.
"We don't pick and choose anyone because we want to represent what girls are really like," says Elva.
North Vancouver's Edgemont Village is home to Sofiabella, a tween clothing store for girls sizes seven-16. Founded by local resident Elena Grant, first as an online store (www. sofiabella.ca) in 2009, and then as a boutique in 2010, Sofiabella is named after her daughter.
"I carry on-trend clothing for girls that's cut appropriately for their bodies," says Grant. "It's not just miniature versions of women's clothing."
"My business is really predicated on just really empowering young girls through fashion. It's all about feeling great and exuding selfconfidence and belief in yourself and it's not all about being sexy and being hot, which is the message that they're getting from a lot of other places," she adds.
While Sofiabella primarily focuses on everyday wear and special occasion pieces (including offering an event dress registry so no two girls end up with the same outfit), activewear is also sold.
One of the spring activewear trends Grant has noticed is '80sinspired off-the-shoulder tops paired with tank tops.
"It's all about layering," she says.
Dolman sleeves are back in a big way, as are distressed Adidasstyle shorts and tie-dye prints.
The rising popularity of girls' activewear has also caught the attention of up-and-coming fashion designer Leora Elischer, 21.
The Lions Bay resident is nearing completion of a bachelor of fashion design and technology at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. At the beginning of the school year, Elischer and her classmates were challenged to create a line to be featured at the annual graduation fashion show, dubbed The Show, set for April 3 at Richmond's River Rock Casino Resort Theatre.
"We had to come up with a niche market, which is a market that's in need that isn't being serviced," she says.
For her contribution, Elischer designed Ivy&ixie, a line of environmentally friendly dancewear for teen girls, ages 12-16.
"It's really colourful and girly but still functional for dance," she says.
Elischer designed 15 pieces and will present three outfits in the show. The first is a full body unitard with ruffle detailing and a cropped pullover. The second look is a tank leotard inspired by retro bathing suits with gathered side panels, and a long-sleeved top that's draped in the back. The final outfit is a short-sleeved leotard with a pair of leggings.
Helping her with the line was her background in dance as well as recent experience as an intern at Lululemon.
"That was super helpful as to how to construct it and how to make it actually function with all the right seaming and construction techniques that I learned while I was there," she says. Elischer is currently working as a design assistant with the company.
For more information or to get tickets ($15/$35) to The Show, being presented at 1, 3: 30 and 7: 30 p.m., visit www. kwantlen.ca/theshow.
