Canada Goose pulled out all the stops for its inaugural fashion capsule, recruiting a guest designer whose star is on the rise and incorporating future-facing technologies to bring the campaign to life.
For its first capsule collection, the luxury outerwear brand tapped Shenzhen-born designer Angel Chen, who studied at London’s Central Saint Martins before finishing in the top four on the Netflix reality competition show “Next in Fashion,” which launched in January last year. Chen said she was inspired by “touring” Canada Goose’s “archival collections” during a visit to headquarters in Toronto.
The maker of premium parkas described Chen as one of fashion’s “brightest young talents,” whose experimental approach to design and color fuses Eastern and Western aesthetics. That combination, it added, created a “contemporary collection without boundaries between countries, age and gender,” and “combines the traditional with the modern, highlighting functional expertise and unique style.”
The exclusive 13-piece capsule of men’s and women’s fashion was first showcased in October during Shanghai Fashion Week. The lineup’s theme tracks the transformational journey of the apparel pieces from winter in Canada to spring in China in a way that shows the evolution of Canada Goose’s most iconic parka, the Snow Mantra. That evolution allows the brand to include its lightweight down, windwear, rainwear, knitwear and accessories categories.
The Women’s Cropped Snow Mantra Parka, which can be worn upside down, and the Men’s Convertible Snow Mantra, which can be worn four ways by experimenting with the removable lower half, sleeves and hood, both feature Chen’s distinctive twist. The former retails for 1,595 Canadian dollars ($1,250) and the latter for 1,795 Canadian dollars ($1,407). Other pieces include a vest, rain jacket and knit jacket for women, as well as a bomber jacket, rain jacket and knit hoody for men, all designed to be layered, mixed and matched.
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Canada Goose executive vice president, product, Woody Blackford says the brand looks for “unique and creative perspectives, drawing inspiration from distinct aesthetics that challenge us. Our brief is to reinterpret and reimagine our core design DNA through their eyes. Angel has done just that, putting her signature spin on our most iconic products.”
The capsule’s campaign is notable for its use of augmented reality (AR) and computer-generated imagery. In-store displays use recyclable materials, while guests at the end of January will be able to unlock natural elements, such as blooming flowers, by pointing their camera at a QR code on a store window display for an AR-powered experiences. AR will also highlight product features and buying options through “hotspots” on the screen.
While the collection leverages Canada Goose fabrics and technologies, it also allows Chen to interpret the brand through her perspective via modern silhouettes and vibrant colors, such as a bold new red and two new shades of pink, a nod to honor Chen’s culture and heritage.
Canada Goose’s selection of a designer native to China seems to further signal the importance of the Chinese consumer market for the future of luxury fashion. Recent research underscores why high-end labels are so eagerly courting young, well-heeled and brand-obsessed shoppers in the world’s second-largest economy, whose spend-happy demographics are fueling much of luxury’s growth.
The capsule is available at select Canada Goose stores and wholesale partners, and on its e-commerce channel, as well as through Tmall and WeChat.