Highlighting A Support Vancouver-Based Hispanic Athleisure Brand During Hispanic Heritage Month (Win!)

In honour of Hispanic Heritage Month in October, meet luxury, sustainable activewear brand French Lime, founded by Mexican designer Denise Saad. With a background in digital art, she creates bold and eccentric designs inspired by her travels to major cities around the world, including her current home Vancouver. We spoke with Denise to learn more. —Vita Daily

When and why did you launch French Lime?

After coming back from a trip to Denmark, I was getting nostalgic and wanted to capture the feeling we get from traveling and experiencing new places. The inspiration from the people, the scenery, the culture, and its energy were important for me to integrate in my daily life as a visual cue. With that thought in mind, I created a pair of leggings for myself in 2017. After wearing them for the first time it completely changed my perspective on leggings. They made me feel so comfortable and confident as they outlined my figure perfectly. Previously I would avoid wearing leggings for the fear of my panty lines showing, but the thickness of French Lime’s leggings smooths them all out. The main thing I realized was that leggings could be playful and elegant. The combination from these three factors made it obvious to me that I had been wearing uncomfortable clothes in vain for far too long, when I could have been perfectly comfortable and feeling like a million dollars.

What niche were/are you aiming to fill?

Making sportswear/athleisure clothing as versatile and glamorous as the rest of the industry. Fashion can be fabulous; it lets us express ourselves and add joy to our day-to-day routine. The problem is that we tend to see efficiency and glamour as two competing attributes when that’s not the case. Combining them and feeling like the best version of yourself is the goal.

What products do you currently offer, and what makes them unique?

We specialize in matching athleisure sets, and apart from our avant-garde designs, what makes us different is that we sincerely care about the impact we have on the planet and the people we work with. Our aim is to really pay attention to our daily practices and adapting quickly to newer eco-friendly solutions as they come. We use verified recycled fabric in all our products, we make sure that all our products are made in a safe environment and that the people who work with us are well compensated for their work.

How does your current home, Vancouver, inspire some of your designs?

Love this question. It is so inspiring to me that I must hold myself back sometimes to avoid having too many outfits with the same name. Canada Place in Vancouver inspired Vancouver Night, the cherry blossom from David Lam inspired Vancouver Spring, and the Vancouver Seawall inspired Cielisule from the Mianreve collection.

It’s currently Hispanic Heritage Month; what makes you a proud Hispanic in Canada?

The Hispanic culture is so rich and full of life. It’s really special to live in a place that embraces my history, traditions and accepts me as one of their own. I am proud to be Hispanic and I am also proud to be a part of Canada. From the moment that I stepped out of the Vancouver airport, I felt an immediate connection unlike anything that I had felt before. I just knew it was my home. More than ten years later, the feeling is still there and as strong as ever. Canada welcomed me and gave me a life I didn’t know I could have, filled with happiness, love, and tranquility. I couldn’t be more thankful for it. The vast majority of French Lime products are made in Canada, as a way to say thank you.

frenchlime.com

Win! A French Lime Leggings & Top Set!

Congrats Elender C. of Calgary, AB, who will receive a pair of leggings and matching top of their choice from French Lime! Please note: if you are the winner, you will receive a DM (direct message) in Instagram directly from @vitadaily.ca. Please be wary of fake accounts, which often use similar handles with an extra or missing letter, number or symbol. We will never ask for a payment or for your credit card number, and we will never ask you to click through a link. If you are unsure whether you have been contacted, via Instagram, by us or a fake account, email us before responding.