When Bianca Hartle got her motorcycle licence last summer, she started shopping around for riding apparel. Unfortunately, finding gear that worked on her petite frame was a challenge.
"I found that it was really difficult to find anything that fit me properly and that I also liked esthetically, that reflected my style and who I am," says the Bowen Island native who graduated from West Vancouver secondary in 2009.
Now a fourth-year fashion design and technology student at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Hartle thought back to that shopping experience when it came time to decide on her final project. Every year, graduating fashion students are tasked with developing a clothing line for a niche market and Hartle quickly identified female motorcyclists as a group in need of more stylish clothing options.
As part of her research, she interviewed a number of women riders about their sartorial wants and needs.
"A lot of them mentioned that they had to buy men's gear because there just wasn't enough offered in the women's market for them," Hartle says. "They would buy a men's small and then just have to deal with it being a little bit big around the waist."
Unflattering "diaper bum" - a result of tooroomy pants that sag in the rear - was a major pet peeve. In fact, Hartle discovered many women alter their riding attire to achieve a better fit.
Ill-fitting motorcycle apparel is not only unbecoming, she says, it can also be unsafe if the re-enforced areas and protective armour pads don't cover the spots they are supposed to.
Yesterday, Hartle's Vita Bici line - the result of eight months of work - was revealed at the River Rock Show Theatre during Kwantlen's annual fashion show. Thirty-nine students in the Wilson School of Design 2015 graduating class presented their designs on the runway.
The Vita Bici line features slim silhouettes designed to make women feel confident and sophisticated both on and off their bikes.
"I wanted something that would blend and transition well into your life and not be so obviously riding apparel," Hartle says, explaining women can comfortably wear her garments on long rides and stop off for lunch without feeling the need to change outfits or remove bulky layers.
Hartle says she kept safety top of mind when designing her line. The garments feature strong seams unlikely to tear in an accident, high-visibility fabrics, and armour pads sewn into pockets on the elbows, knees, hips, back and shoulders.
Although she drew up about 30 pieces, Hartle constructed just three outfits to show on the runway yesterday. The first was made of leather, which provides excellent abrasion resistance but comes at a higher price point. The second ensemble was made of a heavy nylon. "That's still extremely safe and also provides a really great fit and it's quite light-weight and a lower cost than leather," Hartle says. The third outfit represented a casual urban look, consisting of denim jeans and a sweater both lined with Kevlar.
"It's a material that's five times stronger than steel so it's really great for abrasion resistance," Hartle says. "If you fall down and you tear through your denim or you tear through the sweater, you'll then break into the Kevlar which won't tear apart."
Not available in fabric stores, she had to order three metres of Kevlar from the U.K. along with special scissors and thread.
Hartle says she has always been an avid fashion magazine reader, but really got interested in the industry while studying textiles in high school. During her time at Kwantlen, she had the opportunity to work as a design assistant at Lululemon and, in 2014, between semesters, she attended a summer intensive course at Parsons The New School for Design in Manhattan.
After she graduates with her bachelor's degree in May, she hopes to land a job as a junior designer or design assistant at a local company.
