Canada Goose to launch knitwear

Canadian outfitter Canada Goose is to launch its first knitwear collection. Famed for its fur-trimmed parka, the Toronto-based company is expanding into other categories.

Knitwear would seem a natural extension for a purveyor of garments we wear to battle the cold. Canada Goose will this week debut 15 merino wool styles, some that combine its staple fabric of down.

Jackie Poriadjian-Asch, chief marketing officer of Canada Goose told WWD.“When you think of us, you usually think of deep cold. The inspiration for this was drawn from the damp that’s in the West Coast. Many of our styles actually have names that are drawn from British Columbia. We were inspired by ‘hoodie culture’ and that bone-chilling cold you get, and the need to stay dry and protected."

The knitwear collection was developed with thermal mapping, which allows the body temperature to be regulated by how the fabric is woven. This is a similar to process to how down jackets are produced.

Selfridges in London will carry the collection in the first season, alongside other department stores including Printemps in Paris, Saks Fifth Avenue in New York and Breuninger in Germany.

According to WWD, Canada Goose created a digital campaign that details the “making of” the knitwear. “It’s really about the storytelling around the entire journey,” Poriadjian-Asch stated. “We are absolutely proud to support Canadian manufacturing and that remains unchanged. But when we looked at knitwear specifically, we continued to want to make the best-quality products and felt that knitwear in Italy, after a very long journey, made that decision the right one in this particular category,” she said.

Unlike its outerwear, Canada Goose knitwear is designed in Toronto and manufactured in Italy. Additionally the company is currently looking into potentially expanding into other catergories, such as footwear, travel and bedding. The company was founded in a small warehouse in Toronto in 1957, and has since grown into one of the world’s leading makers of performance apparel. Every collection is informed by the rugged demands of the Arctic and inspired by relentless innovation and uncompromised craftsmanship.

Photo credit: Canada Goose