Metro Vancouver, B.C. – Between medical appointments, feeding tubes, health exams or wheelchair navigation, managing complex medical needs at an early age can take the innocence and vibrancy out of childhood.
Enter jolie hart, a new line by local designer Taylor Byrom. Not only does the line dance with playful prints and pretty designs, it works around the care needs of young girls ages two to five.
“I wanted to develop a line of clothing that lets young girls dress for their personality, not their illness,” said Byrom, who first developed the clothing concept as a final-year fashion design student at Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Wilson School of Design.
From Langley to London, Byrom’s clothes have caught the attention of families around the world. And with jolie hart’s official launch this fall, the young Langley-based designer is now keeping busy at her workshop, located at KPU’s research and development space on Surrey’s Innovation Boulevard.
“The launch of Taylor’s first clothing collection is a proud and defining moment for KPU and the Office of Research and Scholarship. It exemplifies our vision for the KPU Innovation space, which is to explore solutions to community health challenges and advance prototypes toward commercialization. There are a lot of people who will benefit from this type of specialized clothing,” said Arthur Fallick, associate vice-president, research at KPU.
Moving forward, Fallick says KPU Innovation will be utilized by faculty and students currently exploring how to build dementia-friendly communities. The hub will also look at supporting other projects that, like Byrom’s, began at the Wilson School of Design.
More information on KPU Innovation, as well as research and scholarship at KPU, can be found at kpu.ca/research. For details on Byrom and her line jolie hart, visit taylorhartdesigns.com.
Kwantlen Polytechnic University has served the Metro Vancouver region since 1981, and has opened doors to success for more than 200,000 learners. Four campuses—Richmond, Surrey, Cloverdale and Langley—offer a comprehensive range of sought-after programs in business, liberal arts, design, health, science and horticulture, trades and technology, and academic and career advancement. Over 19,000 students annually have a choice from over 120 programs, including bachelor’s degrees, associate degrees, diplomas, certificates, citations and apprenticeships. Learn more at kpu.ca.
Photos from the launch event are available on Flickr.
A media kit from TAYLORHART.DESIGNS can be found here.
Media contact:
Hayley Woodin
Media Specialist
t: 604.599.2883
c: 604.364.1288
hayley.woodin@kpu.ca
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