Canada's Fashion Brands Bring High Fashion to the Masses
Fashionistas and designers alike flock to Toronto annually in March to partake in celebrating the upcoming Fall and Winter 2012 collections. High fashion is on everyone’s mind this month due to World MasterCard Fashion Week occurring March 12th through the 17th.
Once tents are taken down and runways dismantled, there are Canadian businesses that take high fashion attributes and implement them into a variety of clothing lines for consumers and retail shelves. This month Business Review Canada is highlighting some of Canada’s most successful and prestigious clothing brands.
Canada Goose
Who says Winter weather coats and parkas have to be bulky or boring? Canada Goose designs and manufactures innovative and high quality outerwear that is so fashionable some consumers just can’t wait until Winter for their fashions. Ready for any type of weather, Canada Goose’s line offers many features to protect you in any situation. From the streets of Milan to research factories in Antarctica, Canada Goose’s clothing is widely renowned as superior.
When it comes to those cold winter months, Canada Goose has the Canadian advantage. Named after a nation that sees some seriously cold temperatures, Canada Goose manufactures authentic extreme weather gear while based in Canada and has been since 1957. Tried and tested, Canada Goose makes sure its product can withstand anything. The company has participated in field tests that included feedback from Canadian Arctic Rangers and the US National Science Foundation researchers in Antarctica.
Offering consumers truly fashionable while functional outerwear, it’s no surprise Canada Goose has seen global success.
Lululemon Athletica
Even though exercise usually leads to less than fashionable looks, Lululemon is trying to help consumers combat that with their highly fashionable athletic line. Based in Vancouver, BC, Lululemon got its start in 1998 after Founder Dennis Wilson noticed a lack of women’s durable yoga wear made from technical athletic fabrics. Lululemon’s initial success is a direct result of yoga instructor feedback from testing the new clothing line while teaching classes. Implementing fashionable designs has taken the company from one store in Vancouver to an International successful athletic clothing brand.
What’s different about Lululemon is how committed the company is to the health of its consumers. In the end, the company promotes that Lululemon isn’t just a clothing brand, it’s a lifestyle. Creating strong ties to local communities, Lululemon hosts in-store events to benefit its consumers ranging from self defence classes to goal setting workshops. Even more, consumers can get good use out of Lululemon products; the company offers complimentary yoga classes led by the company’s community ambassadors.
Roots
Well known for high quality leather goods, Roots has taken its founders Michael Budman and Don Green’s passion for Ontario’s Algonquin Park and translated it into a successful fashion brand. A Canadian lifestyle brand, Roots is globally known for its authentic products that include leather goods, athletic wear, accessories and home furnishings. Getting its start in 1973 with one small store in Toronto, Roots has grown into an international company with 160 retail locations located in North America and Asia.
Inspired by the country from which it operates, Roots appreciates the nature, culture sports and human diversity Canada provides to its citizens. The company’s core principles, a commitment to health, wellness, and environmental protection, have governed Roots since its beginnings and are part of the reason why its designs see such success.