Ainslie Cyopik On Prioritizing Quality at Ainsliewear
A CEO On Progress in Dancewear
Pronouns: she/her | Name pronunciation: Ainslie Sigh-oh-pick
By Madison Huizinga, DWC Blog Editor
Photo by Melika Dez
Few know the vast range of leotard qualities better than a professional dancer. The sensation of an uncomfortable leotard against your skin can feel like it impedes your dancing ability, even leading to a less confident performance. Former professional dancer Ainslie Cyopik knows this all too well - that’s why she founded AinslieWear, a world-class dancewear company celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2022. Read on to learn more about AinslieWear President & CEO Ainslie Cyopik’s own artistic journey and the brand's plans for the upcoming future.
Before becoming a leotard designer extraordinaire, Ainslie led a career as a professional dancer for about 15 years. Like many children, her mother put her in dance at a young age and she quickly took to it. Training at a local ballet school, Ainslie explored ballet and jazz but fell deeper in love with ballet specifically. She eventually ended up dancing in the corps de ballet at The National Ballet of Canada in Toronto, a large company known for its classical ballet work. Ainslie later moved to Vancouver, British Columbia where she danced with Ballet BC. Here, she got to perform in work by renowned choreographers like William Forsythe. “It was a great career,” Ainslie says of her dancing years.
Ainslie grew up in a house full of color and creativity - her father was an artist and her mother had a passion for sewing. She describes drawers in her house being filled with beautiful, colorful fabric, sharing that a love for making beautiful clothes was instilled in her early in life.
“Even as a young teen, I was sewing clothes and loved it,” Ainslie shares. “[I] just adored going to fabric stores with my mom and [seeing] just rows and rows of fabric.” It was a feast for the senses!
Later on, Ainslie began altering some of her leotards that weren’t fitting quite right or that she thought would look interesting with a different color. It was at Ballet BC that she dove deeper into the art of designing and sewing leotards. During her lunch breaks, Ainslie would drop into Dressew, a fabric store next door to the company, and find the best “stretchy stuff” to make leotards with. “That’s where I really started making dancewear for myself and my colleagues,” Ainslie shares.
This year, AinslieWear is celebrating its 25th anniversary. “I can hardly believe it!” Ainslie shares. “We want dancers to feel good. We want people to feel good in the studio,” she says of the philosophy behind the brand. “What we wear does impact how we feel. It can boost us up.”
Through the clothes she made, Ainslie’s mother instilled an appreciation for product quality in her daughter at a young age that shines through at the dancewear company. “The quality of AinslieWear is high,” Ainslie stresses, sharing that the factor that sets the brand apart is the depth of detail it puts into how leotards are made and how they fit. The company sets the bar high, paying close attention to how the leotard lays, the surface area it covers, the stretch and resilience of the fabric, and more. It helps that all the leotards are proudly made in Vancouver, B.C., just steps away from Ainslie’s office. “We have a great team here,” Ainslie says proudly.
Ainslie places value in instilling confidence in her customers, whether they are professional dancers or mothers picking up leotards for their busy dancing children. “They know it’s going to last. They know it’s going to fit well,” she says. Ainslie wants dancers to put on AinslieWear’s leotards and feel like they “hit the mark,” making them feel more self-assured so they can focus on their actual dancing and not on the discomfort of what they’re wearing.
In terms of AinslieWear’s designs, Ainslie shares that the whole world can act as inspiration. She might catch inspiration from fashion trends on the streets or in magazines, but generally, Ainslie loves when happy design accidents happen. “Some things will just cross paths on the product development table,” Ainslie says of such serendipitous designs.
AinslieWear’s 2022 Fall Collection is currently out, featuring falling leaf prints in an elegant “blue heron” shade. In the winter, customers can expect a collection full of darker, edgier tones, as well as holiday-themed products, including those with motifs from The Nutcracker.
Photo by Emily Cooper
Moving forward, inclusivity remains a priority to AinslieWear, particularly in the dancers that are presented across its catalogs and marketing resources. Ainslie voices that it’s “one tiny step,” but through promoting equitable actions across the company’s different branches, she hopes to continue being a part of forward-thinking change. Even across dance companies, Ainslie is thrilled to see so many directors changing up their repertoire, bringing in fresh and dynamic choreography. “Classical ballet [is] not just one thing anymore. It’s really evolving,” she says excitedly. “We’re all broadening how we look at things.”
Shop AinslieWear at Dancewear Center today!
Disclaimer
All content found on the Dancewear Center Website, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and all other relevant social media platforms including: text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Offerings for continuing education credits are clearly identified and the appropriate target audience is identified. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this Website.
If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor, go to the emergency department, or call 911 immediately. Dancewear Center does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on dancewearcenter.net. Reliance on any information provided by dancewearcenter.net, Dancewear Center employees, contracted writers, or medical professionals presenting content for publication to Dancewear Center is solely at your own risk.
Links to educational content not created by Dancewear Center are taken at your own risk. Dancewear Center is not responsible for the claims of external websites and education companies.