Canada Goose Global Flagship

 There is not doubt about it, we love Canada Goose! As you will see in this post there are now many more reasons why that rings true. For those of you just joining in, take a look at our posts from Tofino and Montana for a look back at our history with the brand. This fall, instead of an outdoor adventure, all eyes are set on the grand opening of the very first Canada Goose global flagship store right where it all started, Toronto, Canada. We got a an exclusive first look at the brand new space, took a tour of the factory (for the second time) and celebrated with Toronto’s créme de la créme (and some of Calgary’s). This was one of the coolest (pun of the week) visits to Toronto and always such a fun time with the Canada Goose family! It all started with an invitation frozen in a block of ice…

The INvitation

It was delivered to out hotel the morning after we arrived and took roughly 10 hours to melt before we could hold the actual invite in our hands, talk about anticipation! it was stored in freezers, coolers and extra air conditioned cars. Delivering a frozen invitation, as it turns out, is not an easy task. The next day we drove out to Yorkdale Shopping Centre to view the store before everything was moved for the party that same day. The opening of the store isn’t just a big deal because it’s part of the expansion of the mall, nor is it because it’s a new Canada Goose store, the most significant of all is that this is the first EVER Canada Goose store. After all the years of shopping for your favourite parkas at department stores and boutiques there is now a physical location that is home to every style available for sale, including the highly coveted black label. In fact Yorkdale, being quite close to the Toronto factory, this could not have been a more perfect marriage.

The Store

with Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss

When designing the space, the brand took a page out of their own book and focused on sourcing all materials within Canada, complete with works by Canadian artists, Canadian marble counters (coming  from BC) and reclaimed Canadian wood. The space feels very clean and gives you a good taste of what the aesthetic of the brand is all about. Canada Goose is not just in the business of making winter coats. They create on-set jackets for cast and crews in the movie industry, outfit celebrities and assist whole expeditions on reaching the summits of the highest mountains in the world. The first Canadian to climb Mount Everest wore a bright pink Canada Goose jacket when he reached the top. There are countless stories like this one in the Canada Goose vault and now on a rotating public in-store display, along the original jacket that goes along with each of them.

Canada Goose has become synonymous with winter dressing, i dare you to go outside in the heart of winter, anywhere in the world, and count how many Canada Goose jackets you can spot. From New York to Paris to even LA, out of all places. Even China can’t be spared, there, the brand is only carried at Lane Crawford, but we’ve seen Chinese customers stock up on jackets to send back home every time the season hits. I mean, like I always say, where there’s a will, there’s a way! The Canada Goose Yorkdale store is now open, sadly they will not be carrying the designer collaborations (Opening Ceremony, Vetements)… YET! The New York store is opening next month and who knows what can happen next.

The Factory

After our morning store preview we tagged along with the rest of the team to pay a visit to the Toronto Canada Goose factory. Smaller than their Manitoba facilities, this is a fully transparent glimpse into the process of how your coat is made. Warranty claims are also dealt with from this location. Highly skilled seamstresses work at stations that each completes a different step of making a coat. You start off with pattern cutting, badge application, assembly (lining first, then the coats’s exterior) and the famous down room. The coats go through cleaning and quality control before they are boxed up and ready for shipping. The biggest treat after walking through the factory is visiting the showroom. You can see all the different styles and color ways hanging along the walls and if your lucky even get a glimpse of the yet-unreleased styles for the upcoming seasons, this time, we got a preview of spring 2017…

The Party

 with Kara Chomistek of PARK and Katie Marks

 Keys n’ Krates

 with Liv Judd Soye

We arrived back at Yorkdale later that same day to walk the black carpet and through the [real] ice doorway created specially for the event. We are still scratching out heads as to how they got those things out of there when the party ended. Of course inside we found a Canada Goose ice bar and Frozen candle holders (!). The party was hosted by the one and only Jessie Cruickshank of the E Talk! fame and DJ-ed by Keys n’ Krates, another top Canadian group of artists. I LOVED getting to spend quality time chatting with some of my favourite people from all across the country. We had, of course,  the usual suspects from Toronto like Liv Judd and the Beckerman’s, a writer from Vancouver (now also a friend) and a really nice Calgary representation. Paul Hardy was there showing his collection during the CAFA Fashion presentation that weekend, Kara Chomistek was in town for another opening and a few friends who are now calling Toronto home (though you can’t really take the west out of the girl) made an appearance.  The champagne was flowing, the toasts were many and we literally shut that party down. A hot bath and a day of recovery later here we are. I can’t believe we are back on the plane to Calgary already. Many exciting things are happening in the next few months, but this surely is not the last time you will be reading about Canada Goose on this blog. Stay Tuned for more adventures and until then, remember to stay warm! xoxo