Contract Performance Apparel Design and Creative Direction Specializing in Intimates, Activewear, Performance Outerwear, Athleisure and Swimwear Early in my design career I had the opportunity to work as a Lead Designer for the Lululemon Lab leading a small group of junior designers and facilitating a successful collaboration with local influencers in the cycling community while managing the rigorous design and development cycle of the exclusive store collection. I, then, moved on to parent company, Lululemon Athletica ,where I designed and debuted an innovative fully bonded, high support run bra collection, expanded the Ebb + Flow ™ and Swiftly ™ collections and designed “difficult to commercialize” products such as circular seamless, compression warp knits, and outerwear. Since then I have been working in a freelance capacity designing and developing products for a variety of intimates and activewear brands globally including cult activewear brand Girlfriend Collective, Sundried Activewear, Elita, RYU, and the U.S. Ski Association. I have experience designing in CLO3D, using die-cutting, 3D printed trims and digital prints. For the past 3 years I have predominately been focused on the Chinese activewear market where I have been working as a Chief Creative Officer for a mid-sized lingerie brand based in Shenzhen, China as well as designing a top-tier women's training collection for the popular footwear brand, XTEP. In addition to my design work I have had the opportunity to work as a trend analyst for WGSN attending and reporting on Outdoor Retailer and SnowSports Industries America S15 and W15 seasons. As well, in 2014, I was called upon to audit the Without Walls S15 collection for URBN, Inc. (Urban Outfitters) providing technical and design related feedback to the executive. And finally, I have been able to mentor young designers as an instructor of design, textiles, illustration at John Casablancas Institute in Vancouver where I also assist building future course curriculum. My online portfolio can be viewed at www.jennifer-gagne.com Please feel free to contact me for access to password protected areas.
As a part-time design instructor, I develop and implement innovative curriculum for courses including CLO3D, Adobe Illustrator, Collection Design, Textiles, Fashion Illustration, and Fashion History. I have introduced new courses such as an 8-week CLO3D design course and a 12-week Collection Design course for the CORE Design program. Additionally, I have retooled existing curriculum to create a more engaging and interactive classroom environment. My responsibilities include providing one-on-one and written evaluations for student presentations, projects, and assignments, as well as drafting and grading exams. I mentor students to integrate sustainable practices and digital tools into their design processes, encouraging partnerships with local brands to introduce reworked capsule collections and environmentally friendly production methods. This role has allowed me to guide, inspire, and develop creative teams, a skill I bring to all my professional endeavors.
* +12 years of experience working with manufacturers, suppliers and clients globally in China, the United States and Europe such as: - Lululemon Athletica - URBN Inc. - Girlfriend Collective - XTEP - Huijie Group - Tights.no - US Ski and Snowboard Association - Sundried.com - Ryu.com - WGSN * Responsible for all creative direction, brand creation and lead product design for new and existing brands with a focus on strategic market analysis and technical innovation. * Happily manage multiple clients and projects within consecutive and overlapping seasons and responsible for the design schedule ensuring a timely completion following the predetermined product development calendar. * Specialized in designing long lead-time and hard to commercialize product such as: - High-support, moulded cup bras - Engineered, seamless and warp knits - Bonded seams and finishes - Laser/die cut finishing and trims - 2L + 3L outerwear - Performance swimwear and intimates - Trims + hardware design - Graphics and textile print - Branding design including product packaging and labelling. * Art direct and provide photographic styling for print catalogue and online marketing materials as well as provide feedback on store design, merchandising and web design. * Trend forecasting and reporting on colour, category, fabric and innovation trends for UK- based trend forcasting website WGSN.
Tri-Pod was responsible for all Swimwear, Road and Commuter Cycling, Seamless, Intimates and High-Support Run Bras. I was thrilled to work on the following projects: * expanding the top selling Ebb+Flow Seamless Yoga collection * growing the iconic Swiftly (with Silverescent®) collection * co-designing and developing a full Road Cycling Kit to rival the lululemon + Specialized collaboration * establishing a Cycle Commuting collection that included ergonomically designed woven pants, blouse and outerwear * taking on the full revamp of intimates and launching the Light As Air and Mula Bandhawear lines using ultra-fine denier fabrics * adopting and commercializing a 5 year experiment from the Innovations department - the "Booby Bracer" * creating our own innovative collection of medium to high support, fully bonded bras modelled after an Olympic beach volleyball bra we were inspired by
Women's Run and Yoga collection design: on average 20 new styles were scheduled to drop per month along with quarterly capsule collections. Developed prototypes for top selling styles such as the Align Pant.
Managed a small women's fashion boutique focused on local, contemporary brands.
Assisted the Creative Director in design and technical design creating tech packs, photography for lookbook, fittings, sourcing and sampling.
Jennifer has always been willing to offer her assistance to our clients and her co-workers. She has developed an excellent rapport with the other designers and developers on our team. She would be an asset to any employer and I recommend her for any endeavor she chooses to pursue.
Jennifer is a great asset to any team. She has many honed skills, goes over and beyond on every project, and ensures quality with every step.