THE BEAUTIFUL GAME
Designer helping Canada to suit up
Thanks to goalkeeper Erin McLeod and friends, Canada will look sharp off the field as well as on it at the Women’s World Cup beginning June 6.
McLeod has an interest in Vancouver’s Peau De Loup, founded some 18 months ago by designer Adelle Renaud that is helping clothe the Canadian women in pursuit of a long-term sponsorship agreement.
For Canadian supporters, Peau De Loup has also created the Unity Scarf. Designed by Musqueam artist Debra Sparrow, the scarf is reversible with a design on one side and Canada on the other.
The company’s Canada Soccer collection also includes two shirts: the No. 1 Oxford and True North flannel. The Oxford shirt, designed with McLeod in mind, will be worn by members of the team.
The Unity Scarf sells for $32 with the shirts each priced at $78.
Renaud, 28, always loved the men’s section but couldn’t find anything that fit properly.
Her design business started with shirts. “We took everything we loved about a men’s button-down and put it into a women’s buttondown.” said Renaud.
McLeod wanted a complete outfit for the team so Peau De Loup designed a custom suit: blazer, No. 1 Oxford shirt, pants and skirt. The hope is the company will be able to continue its partnership with the Canadian Soccer Association after the tournament.
Another Vancouver company, Cursor & Thread, is making the French Knots to be worn with the off-field uniforms.
Many men’s teams have long had custom-made designer suits, said Renaud. “For us it was really important to supply the suits to the team just so that they feel special, that they are just as good as the men and we want them to look and feel that way.”
The women’s suits are black, made out of four-way stretch recycled polyester made in Vancouver, and they won’t wrinkle.
“It looks good, feels good. They can actually do a run and play in the suit if they wanted,” Renaud said.
The company hopes to start offering such suits in its clothing line.
Peau De Loup has grown, currently offering more than 69 different fabrics for its shirts.
The company has found a niche, with 50 per cent of business repeat sales. And the company recently appeared on Dragons’ Den, with Renaud sworn to secrecy until the episode airs later this year.
The name Peau De Loup is French for wolf ’s skin. For Renaud, it’s a riff on wolf in sheep’s clothing — menswear for women.
The clothing line, co-owned by Renaud, Beccy Anderson and McLeod, is sold in a few boutiques in Canada but mostly through its website (www.peaudeloup.com).
The company also works with a foundation called The Freedom Factory. A portion of sales goes to an all-girls school in Bangladesh, with the company also working to help the girls’ mothers.