Aritzia mixes fashion, art at new Park Royal store

Aritzia is celebrating its 30th year in business in a big way — like 7,000 square feet big. The Vancouver- based company opened the doors of its largest Canadian store at the expanded Park Royal Shopping Centre in North Vancouver on Thursday. “It’s very exciting,” says Corinne Kepper, Aritzia’s director of public relations, of the warehouse- sized shop, which sits among similarly glossy stores such as J. Crew, Sephora and Anthropologie in the outdoor shopping strip. The new location is the company’s second- largest boutique after the 13,000- square- foot, two- level flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York City. Aritzia has more than 50 locations across North America including Chicago, San Francisco and Toronto. Shoppers can expect to see the same range of in- house brands such as Wilfred, TNA, Babaton and Talula inside the store, as well as outside pieces from brands including Mackage and Rag & Bone. “Our different brands cater to different customers and their different taste levels,” says Brittney Mackinnon, brand ambassador at Aritzia. “You can wear one brand with another — they’re not necessarily exclusive to one age group or one style — it’s all about meshing.” With large windows filtering in natural light and high- ceilinged walls decorated with paintings from local artists including Andy Dixon, it is more like an art gallery than a clothing store. “We are very true to our Canadian roots,” Mackinnon explains.