Vancouver Fashion Week Interview with Lillea Goian of Profanity by LillzKillz (Canada)

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Profanity by LillzKillz will be showing their new collection on the runway at Vancouver Fashion Week FW 24 on Saturday  P.M. Purchase tickets HERE!

From the VFW Website -

Lillea Goian is the visionary creator behind Profanity, an innovative and inclusive fashion brand. Known for pushing the boundaries of fashion, Lillea is set to unveil her latest collection, “Progression by Profanity,” at Vancouver Fashion Week F/W 2024 after a 5 year runway hiatus. Her designs, rooted in a deep passion for artistic self-expression, are a celebration of individuality and empowerment.

With a focus on fearlessness, inclusivity, and unapologetic self-love, Profanity’s ethos shines through in every unique piece. Lillea’s journey in the fashion world has been marked by a commitment to breaking norms and making bold statements.

Interview -

Please share a bit about your journey to embrace fashion design as a career.

I was raised in the film industry, with a wardrobe stylist mother. I always had a huge dress up box full of funky clothes that I loved playing with more than toys. I come from a long line of treasure hunting clothing thrifters. Basically I grew up shopping. Fashion became a passion of mine at a very young age. As I grew into my teen years I found myself wanting to pursue some sort of career in fashion. I applied for fashion school in grade 12, was accepted and moved to Vancouver on my own to start Fashion school.

How did you learn your skills?

I studied fashion marketing and business in 2015, then took a 6 month course on fashion design
in 2016/17. From there I have learnt a lot from trial and error as well as from my amazing design
mentor Jayne Mabbott, who had been a seamstress for my mother and knew me when I was a
toddler on set. She had been following my journey and offered to be my mentor. Jayne has been
an integral part of my progression as a seamstress.

Who are you as a designer? Aesthetic? Customer? Brand?

As a queer person working in the fashion industry, I naturally am drawn to create clothes for all genders/ sizes. My brand is known for being very colourful and rave inpsired. With the re-launch of Profanity, I am working towards moving away from those inspirations a bit and focusing more on elevated everydaywear, detailed garment design, functionality, and comfort.


What comes easiest for you as a designer? What is hardest?

I have always loved the power clash and mixing the unexpected to create looks that stand out. I love and prefer working with woven fabrics. Making pants is my absolute favorite garment type to construct. Statement pants have been a key component of my design work since I first launched my brand fresh out of college. The hardest thing is when I am creating too much for other people and don’t take time to create for myself. I need to create more time for inspiration.

Where do you find inspiration for new collections? How important is colour to your
design process?

I find inspiration from everyday life. I’ve never felt like answering this specific question was an easy one. I feel like the inspiration for garments is either there or it’s not. It totally depends on the emotions I'm experiencing in life during the time I am creating. Color and prints are very important to me and have been since I first started making clothes but I feel like I am starting to grow out of that now and focus more on design details.

Readers would love to know more about the new collection you will be showing at
Vancouver Fashion Week FW24.

Do you have a favorite look in this collection?

I wouldn’t say that I am particularly excited about one look. Most of the looks from this collection will be ready to wear pieces that are more focused on functionality so it won’t be as much of an “art show” as my past runway collections. Over the past 5 years I have spent a lot of time honing my craft and learning new skills and I am mostly excited to show how much I have grown in my garment construction abilities and show that off to an audience.


Where can readers purchase your designs?

Currently I have a simple website - www.shoplillzkillz.com - and most of my sales are through my instagram feed. I am developing a new site at the moment for Profanity as a separate entity from LillzKillz.


What's next for you as a designer and your brand?

What’s next for me is a clothing line that can be brought to a trade show and shopped by buyers of boutiques/ online stores that have a clientele that desire unique style and quality design and detail. I have been doing all custom work up until this point and am ready for the next level of ready to wear design. I can see my clothes in cool shops around the globe. I plan to hire a team to help me grow/develop my brand in a sustainable way in the near future.

Links -

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