The fashion industry in Canada explained
The fashion industry has been dominated by Europeans for hundreds of years, with few countries reaching their level or coming close to it. In the last few years, we have seen a significant change in the fashion universe with many new, very popular upcoming brands. Is it possible that Canada could bring a new brand to the forefront of the big scene in the next few years? In this article, I will discuss the Canadian-started brands that are now very popular and how they have the potential to become among the biggest clothing brands in the world.
First of all, who are the biggest clothing brands in Canada in 2024 and where are they? The biggest names and most hyped brands right now would be: Canada Goose, JJJJound, and Dime. They are all very big right now and are bringing a lot of attention to the Canadian scene.
Canada Goose
From Toronto, this brand started in 1957 under the name Metro Sportswear. In the early 2000s, it really started to become an international brand, mostly bought in cold countries like Russia and the USA. Known for its high quality and large jackets, which are perfect for winter, Canada Goose started to become more of a luxury fashion brand when they decided to expand their product offering to include knitwear, accessories, and lightweight jackets. Since then, they have always had a very premium price tag, which kept increasing due to the demand for the brand. Canada Goose is now standing as the top luxury brand in the world, and they definitely still have the potential to keep growing if they continue to collaborate with streetwear brands like Bape or Concepts.
JJJJound
Founded in 2006 by Justin R. Saunders, JJJJound used to be a Tumblr blog. Starting in the streets of Montreal, the brand became known for its timeless designs across multiple products, which include clothing, accessories, home goods, and of course, multiple collaborations with other brands. In the world of fashion, this brand never really did any typical runway show; they were more focused on their online presence. To make themselves a place in the clothing world, they really focused on the quality and thoughtful design of their products, with a price range that is very extended, ranging from $100 for a T-shirt to $700 Canadian dollars for a jacket. I would classify this brand as decently affordable since their prices aren’t too high either. Now let’s talk about the most popular collaborations with other brands. In the last three years, they collaborated with many big names in streetwear and fashion. I can cite Eddie Bauer, New Balance, Asics, Salomon, and Bape. Every single collaboration gets a lot of hype and gets sold out basically instantly, so you might need to pay resale price for those.
Dime
One of the most influential and popular streetwear brands in the world, Dime now has the ability to sell out any collaboration and hyped drop with their huge fan base all across the world. Starting in 2005 on the streets of Montreal, a skateboarding brand was born in the hands of Antoine Asselin, Phil Lavoie, and Vincent Tsang. In 2024, Dime is now available everywhere in the world in physical stores like Supreme to virtual stores like Ssense or End. They specialize in pieces of clothing like jeans or T-shirts, but they now make basically everything. Let’s talk about the collaborations Dime has had in the last few years; the most notable would be with Asics, Vans, Reebok, Adidas, and New Balance. From releasing shoes with Adidas to a full clothing line with the Montreal Canadiens, they never miss growing the hype of these drops.
