It's that time of year when the streets of cities from Portland to St. Paul to Philadelphia are clogged with something familiar: not the dirty banks of gray slush piled against the sidewalks, but the red, white, and blue arctic landscape sharp on those sidewalks. I mean that small circular patch on the wearer's left arm as prominent and identifiable as the Canada Goose logo. The brand's parkas are so ubiquitous that it can often feel like a uniformed regime is advancing from all points of the compass.
Within the NY area, women seem to go for the Shelburne, Victoria and Rossclair styles; for men, the Langford, Expedition and Carson are the most popular, and for both, the preferred color is black. All these clothes are around 950 dollars. They are all full of duck. They all have a removable coyote fur trim around the hood, and almost everyone I see has chosen not to remove the fur.
Those who wear the brand's coats do so with an air of unquestionable practicality. City dwellers like to think of themselves as problem solvers; they have "street smarts". So if it's cold out, and this has been a particularly frigid winter, not just in the Northeast but across the country, why would you choose anything other than Canada Goose?, which says, "Our products are designed to withstand the world's harshest elements." ". It makes sense, right?
Actually, that's debatable. Last fall, Gucci added its name to the list of companies that refuse to wear fur, joining the FurFree Alliance, as did parent company Kering CEO and Chairman Marco Bizzari, who said of fur: "I don't think keep it modern...it's a bit outdated." They were followed in December by Jimmy Choo, and its parent company Michael Kors, pledging the same commitment. Others who have turned down fur include Ralph Lauren, Giorgio Armani, Tommy Hilfiger, CalvinKlein, Net- a-Porter and Selfridges.In fact, the last quarter of 2017 turned out to be a high point for PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and fur advocates, as world-renowned luxury brands rejected en masse the exploitation and killing of animals for manufacture of clothing and accessories.
Today it is relatively easy to find alternatives. For more than 20 years, Amsterdam-based brand HoodLamb, whose designs are "inspired by nature at its wildest and worst weather" and who claim they were the first to develop hemp clothing, has won a PETA award for Vegan Brand of the Year in 2017. Their "nordic parkan" has an inner shell "insulated with Thermore® EcoDown®, a duck-free down that resists extreme cold [that] is lined with a 7mm-high natural hemp and recycled PET synthetic fur ". The style is virtually identical to the Victoriaem> from CanadaGoose, but costs several hundred dollars less.
Last year, when Canada Goose collaborated with Vetements, the popular and rebellious Parisian brand, it could have been interpreted as a move by the company to reframe new fashion territory. However, his reliance on fur represents the exact opposite of the direction fashion is taking. Even the success of Gucci's best-selling kangaroo leather loafer two years ago, which sold for roughly the same price as a Canada Goose parka and became a status symbol, couldn't stand in the way of doing the right thing. But when FashionUnited asked Canada Goose if the continued use of animal fur and duck feathers was out of step with fashion or if they felt an urgency to replace profits with promoting ethical materials, the company replied: "At Canada Goose, we use fur for ensure we deliver a product that works where and when it is needed most.We are a business that works first on a long-standing commitment to responsible and ethical sourcing of our materials, as evidenced by our transparency standards.All of our materials are sourced from suppliers who meet strict government standards and regulatory, as well as our own high standards."
It could be argued that the brand consumer cares not about fashion, but about the status symbol of the decoyote fur trimmed coat, even if duplicated by one in four people on the street. Maybe it gives them a sense of belonging to a wealthy cabal, though it's certainly not exclusive. One could call them the goose joke, and they may still be basking in the light from when this premium clothing brand went Hollywood-friendly (the company introduced the practice of handing out free coats to celebrities, especially actors filming in extreme weather locations that resulted in photographs of Daniel Craig and Emma Stone, among others, wearing them).
But these arguments would not carry weight among the crowds of protesters who regularly gather outside its US flagship store in Manhattan's Soho, which opened in 2016 as the company rode a wave of success following a capital injection from the equity firm. privateBain Capital. The growth of the brand has been impressive. Business Insider> It estimated sales in 2001 at $3 million, compared to 2014, where they had risen to $200 million, and that was a pre-investment. In March of last year, the company went public. Simultaneously, posters showing the bloody carcasses of animals alongside images of coats flourished on Manhattan high-rises. The multi-label retailer Kith on Lafayette Street, which stores Canada Goose, is also regularly targeted by protesters.
So perhaps the questions posed to the company would be better directed at savvy New Yorkers and their equivalents in winter cities around the world who believe animal fur is essential for getting them out of the house. office to the snowy corners of Trader Joe's, dodging the spray of passing yellow cabs instead of fending off the polar bears. Aren't you smart enough to break free of the gang, fur the coyotes, feather the ducks, and take a peek? to alternative innovations for your cold weather needs?em> The fashion industry will welcome you
By guest editor Jackie Mallon, who teaches on the faculty of various fashion programs in New York City and is the author of Silk for the Feed Dogs, a novel set in the international fashion industry.
This article was previously published on FashionUnited.uk. Translation and editing: Gabriela Maldonado.
Photos: Jackie Mallon Logo: Canada Goose Facebook page and HoodLamb.com.
