Suiting up
NHL’s Subban clan helps launch clothing line,
Hockey’s Subban clan had a rare reunion at a photo studio in Montreal’s artsy canal-side St. Henri neighbourhood this summer.
The occasion was a menswear fashion shoot for Quebec-based RW&Co. (rw-co.com).
The brand, which has close to 80 stores in shopping malls across the country, focuses on city and work wear.
This past year, the re-energized design teams at the Chabanal headquarters for the youthful city-wear brand created a line of 12 men’s suits at entry-level pricing ($298 to $498), launching in early September. The Subban men are all decked out in their personal selections to star in the campaign shoot.
The Subbans are Canada’s latest hockey dynasty and, with three brothers spread across the continent at NHL training camps, they relished the opportunity to get together in one place to play dress-up.
Joining Montreal Canadiens defenceman P.K. (short for Pernell Karl), 26, in the NHL are brothers, Malcolm, 22, who is a goalie for the Boston Bruins, and Jordan, 21, a defenceman signed by the Vancouver Canucks this summer.
Dad Karl, a retired principal from the Toronto District School Board, and mom Maria, a banker at CIBC, made the journey from their Rexdale home to Montreal.
Sister Natasha, a teacher, was also on hand. Only the fifth sibling was missing: Nastassia (also an educator).
“We were babies when we started skating,” says P.K., whose star power in Montreal can’t be understated. He has also learned that humility, at least regarding family, is always in style.
“Now I realize how tough it must have been for my parents. All five of us are successful, on and off the ice.”
Karl reminisces about dressing in the dark to trek to yet another arena before dawn: “I would look down at work and be wearing two differentcoloured socks.”
Marie, watching him record video backstory for the RW website, also allowed herself a pat on the back: “I guess I did something right.”
Hockey players are known for their black suits, but P.K. isn’t afraid of sartorial flash.
He busted out a salmon suit for the NHL awards (seen also on the cover of the Hockey News). He is also a fan of velvet suits.
“I like to cut against the grain. I don’t like to stay within the lines,” he says, after the shoot is done and Drake is turned down on the studio sound system. “I’m young and enthusiastic. I think you can dress any way that you feel.”
Of course, as the $72-million dollar man, P.K. has the means to express himself. He reverts to sports press conference sound bites on this subject: “Every day is my birthday,” and “I’ve never worked a day in my life,” and “I’m very blessed to be doing something I love that I get paid well for.”
But when it comes to the subject of his younger brothers, who are new to the publicity and fashion games, he turns warm and thoughtful.
“I’m really glad they got this experience. I was interested to see how they handled themselves. And it was a pleasure for all of us to dress up and have fun together.”
Jordan is also a fashion enthusiast off the ice, with a large collection of signature hats.
He says his first thought on the day he was signed by the Canucks was, “I wanted to take my parents out to dinner.”
Malcolm is more laid back fashionwise — “skateboard style and Vans,” he says, growing much more animat- ed talking about his big purchase when he hit the big leagues: his car, “a Chrysler 300 5.7-litre stage 3 Diablo Z with racing strut headers.”
All three of the boys and their father were chuffed with their RW gear, which they customized through the small army of stylists on hand. So was the design team from the company, seeing the fruits of their labour come to life.
RW&Co. is a division of Reitmans Canada, which also owns the eponymous mall brand, along with Thyme Maternity, Addition Elle and Penningtons.
The design team uses the terms “polished cool” and “accessible prestige” to describe the product offerings.
The headquarters in the schmatte district on Chabanal are filled with inspiration boards featuring swatches of European-inspired fabrics in shades of teal, grey, green, burgundy and neutrals, with some sharp check-on-check patterns. The pieces, built around a blazer base (all with a narrow lapel this season), are carefully designed for maximum mixing and matching potential.
The team is particularly excited about the accessories that research shows young men are all over: vests, tie clips, skinny ties and bow ties.
Most of the shirts feature spread collars and all the shirts and accessories match every suit.
The push is on the Miles (the “cool guy” slim fit) and the Preston (the tailored fit). Short and tall sizes are also available.