Designer creates haute-couture outdoor gear
Grandmother provided inspiration for the line’s look
Anne-Marie Olson could well be a model for her new business Park Luxury Sporting Accessories. A fresh-faced beauty, Olson is athletic, fashionable and would look right at home with the jet-set crowd.
The Ottawa native, who has lived in the U.S. for 20 years, has enjoyed a long career in fashion and design, having worked for the likes of Escada U.S. as director of couture collection, and Polo Ralph Lauren in its handbag division. She says that no one else in the world is offering what she is and that the industry is ripe for her luxury items.
“Park is really derived from a necessity in the luxury market. I still golf, ski, sail and play tennis and, as a person who has spent a career in fashion, I seek to do all my activities and hobbies in style wherever possible as I find that it tends to elevate the experience,” Olson says.
The line, made with highquality materials from Italy, will appeal to active jet-setters who aren’t interested in skimping on comfort and style. Products include the Park Temagami tennis rack- et cover, $450, a goosedown sleeping bag with silver-foxfur trim for $1,295.
“It is truly a first of its kind and is spot on with the current focus in fashion on outdoor leisure, sporting and glamping.”
In high school, Olson was labelled a jock for all of her sporting endeavours, including competitive swimming, track, triathlons, tennis and cross-country skiing. She has a degree from the University of Western Ontario in French literature and studied interior design at Ottawa’s Algonquin College. She also ran her own design shop in Barrie, Ont., north of Toronto, for a few years before moving to New York City.
“The whole interior design scene is socialite-driven in New York. I got a job with Escada as a buyer and eventually worked my way up to director of couture. I got to travel all over the country and got a real taste for global luxury and what high fash- ion means.”
Olson credits a job as head of fashion with Lafayette 148 as a turning point. She was immersed in fabric research and development, attending shows and touring mills.
“The accessory business is the most profitable sector for any retail business.”
Olson dreamed of designing a line such as Park for more than a dozen years and has numerous mood boards throughout her home to prove it. She launched her site Parkaccessories.com in late July and is already receiving buzz with an editorial plug on Vogue.com and in the coming December issue of Harper’s Bazaar.
“The timing is right. I have the corporate training, the connections and I know mill producers and the factories. I know design, fabric and materials. I moved forward on this because of the response from a lot of influential people who loved it.”
The design esthetic for Park is inspired by childhood summers spent living with her grandparents in Kapuskasing in northern Ontario where her mother was raised.
“All of my grandmother’s blankets were plaid wool and she had plaid metal Thermoses, wicker picnic baskets. She was a meticulous housekeeper. I was fortunate to have spent my summers outdoors in the water and in nature.”
She doesn’t expect her business to be an overnight success and knows that it takes time to build a brand. She is getting the word out through social media and has a buyers’ showroom in New York’s fashion district.
“Park is about creating an aura that you can enjoy the sporting life in elegance and style. It’s about your lifestyle and being wrapped in luxury. I want people to come to my brand for any sport or hobby that they do. Park accessories are luxurious but never frivolous.”