Lululemon to Arc’teryx, five Vancouver brands built on city’s active spirit

Vancouverites have the tongue-in-cheek reputation for starting their day with sun salutations, ending it with a jog around the Stanley Park sea wall and eating kale and quinoa in between. This is funny because it’s largely based on truth. Perpetuating this truth are five well-known brands that many actually credit for helping to create it in the first place: Lululemon, Aritzia, Herschel Supply, Native Shoes and Arc’teryx. If their respective corporate image seems “very Vancouver”, it’s because these internationally beloved companies were born and bred in the city. “Vancouver is such a unique place from a design perspective,” says Mike Belgue, creative director at Native Shoes. Native Shoes’ footwear achieves a balance between form and function. Made from injection-moulded EVA (ethylene-vinyl acetate) in predominantly slip-on styles that come in a rainbow of colours, the shoes are coveted as much for their style as they are for their comfort. With a home audience that fiercely values work-life balance, Native has found Vancouver to be a fertile backdrop for products that demand high performance in various scenarios. Sneakers: from sports shoes to celebrity-backed must-haves “Our designs are inspired by Vancouver’s unique embrace of an outdoor culture that’s highly blended into the work culture,” Belgue says. “Our Audrey [d’Orsay style shoe] is a perfect example: you can wear it to a beach in the morning and get it wet in the ocean, head over to lunch with friends in the city and later that afternoon attend a work meeting, all in the same day, in the same shoes.” Arc’teryx is a company that manufactures technical high-performance apparel, outerwear and equipment. Located in North Vancouver at the foot of the North Shore Mountains, its design and production facilities are minutes away from outdoor environments that offer everything from gentle recreational fun to extremely harsh conditions. Named after archaeopteryx lithographica, the first reptile to develop feathers for flight, the company was founded in 1989 by a group of local climbers who made high-end climbing harnesses. Today it reaches a broader audience, intent on making the extreme wilderness more accessible to anyone who is willing to try. “We chose to operate in Vancouver because it provides a safe place to experiment with new materials, techniques, equipment, technologies and emerging products,” says Verity King, global public relations manager at Arc’teryx. “Operating in our own backyard is a vital and unique advantage.” Back in the city, Aritzia rules the urban jungle. Its Chevalier blazer, Cohen trouser, winter parka and blanket scarf are all iconic items to Vancouver fashion shoppers. Aritzia began in 1984 as an in-house label within a smaller boutique, Hill’s of Kerrisdale. Back then, Vancouver was coming out of its spandex-and-shoulder-pads phase and the rise of Aritzia paralleled, if not fuelled, Vancouver’s interest in more fashion-forward options. Today, its Vancouver flagship on Robson Street is comprised of four interconnected retail spaces that in total stretches half a city block. If you grew up in Vancouver, you know about Aritzia’s legendary annual summer warehouse sale. The event lasts nearly a week, is located in Vancouver’s huge new convention centre, and is guaranteed to draw massive crowds including several dozen people who will have camped out overnight. “The annual Aritzia warehouse sale is a shopping institution in this city,” says Aleesha Harris, arts and life editor at The Vancouver Sun newspaper. “It’s epic.” Her top shopping strategies? First, target specific categories such as denim, outerwear or scarves, because you’ll exhaust yourself if you go in with a “just browsing” mentality. Second, go with someone who can help pass the hours while lining up. Finally: “You just have to get up ridiculously early. Grab a coffee and get in line.” It’s a Vancouver rite of passage. While Aritzia’s influence on Vancouver was slow and steady, Lululemon’s was explosive. “Vancouver serves as the perfect testing ground for developing innovative technical athletic gear,” says Stuart Haselden, chief operating officer and executive vice-president international at the company. “Our business was born from a love of daily sweat … and Vancouver is a city that truly reflects the sweat life.” Vancouver fully embraced Lululemon from the beginning, first for its chic yoga wear but soon after for its introduction of a whole new category of clothing: athleisure. The label grew beyond activewear and into a lifestyle brand, evidenced most recently by the launch of its new line of self-care products. Haselden recognises Vancouver as an important part of Lululemon’s heritage but that “the sweat life translates across geographies, backgrounds, age and gender”. He acknowledges that international markets, Asia in particular, is where the brand’s future lies, and it recently opened its first airport store, in Hong Kong International’s Terminal 1. “There are exciting long-term growth opportunities for Lululemon as communities around the world increasingly pursue an active, mindful lifestyle,” he says. “We are seeing an exceptionally strong guest response, especially in China where in Q1 we saw nearly 70 per cent total market growth and digital grew 100 per cent.” For Herschel Supply, the vision from the beginning was to sell its distinctive products overseas. In its first year, the products were available in eight countries. “We always planned to be a global brand, because we felt the problem we were trying to solve … was always bigger than what was in our backyard,” says Lyndon Cormack, co-founder of Herschel. And that problem? “Backpacks were boring.” In just 10 years, Herschel backpacks have come to dominate airport lounges, university campuses and fitness gyms all around the world. The company also now offers luggage, apparel and travel accessories, but it’s the backpacks that have remained virtually unchanged since inception, and which have made Herschel a global brand. And yet, despite its far-reaching goals, the company is resolute about its roots. “Vancouver is part of Herschel’s DNA. We never contemplated being anywhere else. If anything, the multicultural community in Vancouver helps us understand the globe a lot better … We also have a special relationship with the outdoors here and that definitely affects the way we think about design.” For Vancouver, these brands have changed the way we dress, board planes, and look at mountains as challenges and not obstacles. “People are extremely active in this city, whether it’s within the community, sports or health,” Cormack says. “It’s almost like ‘doing stuff’ and experiencing the outdoors is kind of social currency.” Spoken like a true Vancouverite.