BUT IS IT FASHION?
Sweats fit in with the latest buzz: normcore.
Pfff ! Sabrina Barilà won’t say how many La Montréalaise Atelier sweatshirts she has sold. The Montreal designer discovered the appeal of the sweatshirt when, on a lark about a year ago, she posted a picture of her La Montréalaise Atelier top, adorably decorated with a drawn bow tie, on Facebook.
“People went mad,” she said. They sold out in a day and she had to reorder repeatedly.
“People had a great sense of pride wearing something that says ‘La Montréalaise.’ “
She also thinks fleece is necessary to the everyday Montreal lifestyle.
“I decided it was a brand,” said Barilà, whose business has been transformed by the sweatshirts’ popularity. She is now also making sweatpants, T-shirts and other items out of fleece and decorating the tops with helmet heads or the beautifully expressive Pfff. And she is collaborating with Montreal artisans like Molly Spittal of Stowe for leather wallets and totes, and Ouistitine for stuffed creatures, wearing mini Pfff or Montréalaise tops.
Her main ready-to-wear fashion line under her name will get about
“Before, dressing nicely was dressing up. Now, it’s more dressing down.”
WINNIE WONG
four capsule collections a year, she says. “I like to create closer to the season.”
The success of Barilà’s venture is just the tip of the sweatshirt wave. Since Givenchy’s Ricardo Tisci started doing luxurious decorated sweatshirts selling for well over $1,000 (and this season, an organza version in the $4,500 range), knockoffs quickly trickled down to the chain stores and then back up the chain, as designers from Stella McCartney to Mary Katrantzou reinterpreted the lowly sweat.
In Montreal, designer Travis Taddeo has always done fleece, and this season he perfected the perfecto, a classic heather grey French fleece version of the motorcycle jacket that rings in at $1,115.
“It’s comfortable, it’s what I wear,” Taddeo said of fleece. “It’s the epitome of streetwear to me, casual but you can still do it pretty edgy.”
This season, he has a big push with imported French fleece, which is terry rather than fluffy on the inside, he explained. There are basic dresses, shorts and sweaters, too, at more moderate prices.
Of course, the sweatshirt has long been a staple of streetwear. But this season it has another possible appeal. A trend called normcore has been sweeping social media, and the basic, undecorated hoodie fits right in. (See story below.)
Over at Editorial Boutique on Stanley St., sweats are a staple, plain and simple, or sporting everything from reflective letters that glow in the dark to messages: Ain’t No Wifey (worn by Cara Delavigne and Miley Cyrus), Saint Laurent Montreal and Ain’t Laurent Without Yves, Go **** Your Selfie. Dropcrotch sweats, boyfriend jeans, bombers and combat boots are also hot for the boutique’s 16 to 30 demographic, says Winnie Wong, an owner of the boutique.
“The sweatshirt has become a status symbol,” Wong said. “Before, dressing nicely was dressing up. Now, it’s more dressing down.
“It’s that cool factor.” La Montréalaise sweatshirts (basic is $65) sell at Simons, Off the Hook, online at www.lamontrealaiseatelier.com and every Friday from noon to 6 p.m. at the designer’s atelier, 5455 de Gaspé St., Suite 903. Travis Taddeo designs are available online at www.travistaddeo.com and at Denis Gagnon, Delano Design and Unicorn boutiques. Editorial boutique is located at 1455 Stanley St.