Article of February 2, 2020

The affirmation of Canadian fashion on the international market

Canada took advantage of the end of the Second World War to make a name for itself in the fashion and haute couture world as early as 1946. It benefited from wide media coverage at the time as well as word of mouth from customers. Madame Martha (Toronto) set up an export market for Canadian creations to the United States, all this in order to stay ahead of post-war France, which had serious economic consequences (including in the fashion industry).

Canadian fashion began to make itself known in the 1950s and 1960s, but especially in the last decade with the conclusion of agreements that were made through major fashion houses, which made it possible to promote Canadian fashion in the world and to draw attention to the 1967 World's Fair taking place this year in Montreal.

An even greater recognition of Canadian designers led to the creation in the mid-1970s of the Fashion Designers Association of Canada, whose purpose was to raise awareness of the impact of fashion in the Canadian economy. The association was dissolved in 1980.

Canadian fashion began to be exported massively in the 1980s and especially in the 1990s; one example is the "Parachute" clothing line which, according to an article published in 2017, would have been present in nearly 500 points of sale around the world.

Canada now has a major place in the world of fashion and, like Antwerp in Belgium, has designers who have prestigious positions in major houses but also designers who make themselves known through their own brands (like Yumi Eto at the end of the 1990s, now creative director at Aritizia).