Leigh Roundy

I knew I wanted to be an apparel designer when I was 4 years old. I would do sketches and hand them to my mom, who is an excellent seamstress, and I picked up those design habits from watching her. I started sketching at an early age and would make little sketches for costumes with all the call-outs, and my mom always joked that she never had any questions because the sketches were so clear. I went to Oregon State University for their apparel design program and never changed my major, even though the orientation leader said most students change 3 to 4 times. After graduating in 2008 during a rough economic time, I did a stint in retail where I met someone who later connected me to an internship at Columbia Sportswear in 2010. I took a leap of faith, leaving a job with benefits and higher pay for that internship, and within months I was hired full-time as an assistant designer for performance fishing gear. I spent about 6 years helping build the women's PFG point of view, advocating that women aren't just sitting on docks but are hardcore anglers who need serious performance apparel. I led several Star Wars collaborations with Lucasfilms, including the Rogue One collection, which was incredibly fulfilling as a huge sci-fi and fantasy nerd. I even got to visit Skywalker Ranch archives and touch the original costumes from Empire Strikes Back, like Han Solo's parka and Princess Leia's outfit. Those collaborations had some of the highest selling days in Columbia history, with one collection selling out in 7 minutes online. I also led a Frozen 2 collaboration with Disney, attended the Hollywood premiere, and met the character designers of Anna and Elsa. I love bridging creativity with functional design and building products that are both beautiful and highly versatile. After working on the Asia-Pacific market category designing premium outerwear for China, Korea, and Japan, I moved to Wrangler almost four and a half years ago. Now I manage a team in the outdoor business unit, bringing innovation through high-stretch synthetics and new technologies to this heritage brand. I'm passionate about mentorship, fabric innovation, storytelling, color forecasting, and creating those surprise-and-delight details that make garments special. I believe in building respect and trust with my team and cross-functional partners, and I always try to show up positive and have fun because we're making clothes. My goal is always to be disruptive and lead rather than follow in the marketplace.