Vancouverites routinely score well on worst-dressed lists.

Our habit of sporting yoga-wear as streetwear is only part of what outsiders see as a problem.

Sure, we like our sweatpants, but gumboots come in handy on rain-slicked streets, and Gore-Tex is pretty much a no-brainer for our weather.

Vancouverites care less about heel height, animal-prints and statement handbags than about breathability, wickability and permeability.

Putting the function and feel of high-performance outerwear before the look makes sense culturally as well as environmentally, after all, we live in one of the world’s most spectacular outdoor playgrounds.

Other than the pesky hours we spend working to pay for our tiny over-priced pieces of real estate, life here is like a perpetual summer at the cottage. We’re outside. Even if it rains.

Still, we look like hell, most of the time.

But what has been our weakness could soon become our strength.

It’s no secret that Vancouver has spawned some of the world’s most respected performance-wear brands: Lululemon for yoga, MEC for outdoors, Arc’teryx for high-end tech, Sugoi for biking, Mustang for safety.

The new deal struck by Kwantlen Polytechnic University, the B.C. government and Chip and Shannon Wilson to build a school of design that will essentially feed skilled talent directly into the local industry could bring a boom in development — and it just might buy us a little respect as well.

The move comes just in time.

“The world is becoming very competitive,” said David Labistour, CEO of MEC.

Although Vancouver is a centre of excellence in performance wear design, Labistour cites Portland, Utah, California and Germany as global leaders of the pack.

“We are not alone. It’s a competitive space. If you look at what happened with the tech and gaming industry here you’ll see that if you rest for a second assuming you’re awesome, you can get the rug pulled out from under you very quickly.”

Functional outerwear has more complex requirements than fashion. It has to work, it’s not about how you work it. “Technical product requires another level of knowledge in terms of how fabric performs,” said Labistour.

Developing skilled designers is critical. And who knows — they may just make us look better, even in our sweats.

dryan@vancouversun.com