Point blanket breathes life into The Bay

Tom Ford did it at Christian louboutin and the results were seriously sexy. This year it was announced that Jean Paul Gaultier has been hired by Hermes to do the same thing – provide an old name with an updated image. Gaultier replaces an outgoing Martin Margiela and we’ll know in a few months if the collaboration works.
When new guns are sought to breath life and relevancy into respected,louboutin shoes, traditional brands, it’s a risk, even when those designers have a huge fan base and decades of experience.
So why on earth, then, would George Heller, the president and CEO of the Hudson’s Bay Co., entrust three twentysomethings with no track record to a 300-year-old brand?
"At first I thought we had to hire a hotshot," said fashion director Suzanne Timmins, who addressed an audience at the official launch of Hbc Signature at the Queen St. store last week.
They didn’t want to entrust The Bay’s image to a brand merchandising company that specializes in such makeovers.
"Instead, we took a small group of young designers right out of school. We got the best of the best," said the stylish Timmins dressed in a black sweater, a black pleated skirt, pointy shoes and fishnets.
She insisted the collection had to be contemporary, that it could not have what she called "a pioneer edge" or a "Holly Hobbie Goes West" sentimentality.
The challenge, acknowledged the designers Erin Leslie, 27, Jeremy Laing, 24, and Cheri Louie, 26 , was to respect the traditions of the brand while transforming it into something modern. It was imperative that each product was to play off historical references but suit the needs of today’s customers. Heller calls it "wearable heritage."
Laing, who twice a year also helps the famous British designer Alexander McQueen pull his collections together, appreciates that it is the team’s responsibility "to interpret the company’s history in a contemporary way." (Laing interned with McQueen years ago and remains a faithful part of the team.) He says the company has attempted such makeovers before but it was never particularly successful.
From a design perspective, the greatest challenge was to create a collection that did not look like it belonged in a tourist kiosk. The famous Hudson’s Bay Company point blanket is, after all, an internationally recognized symbol of the company and in many respects, of Canada. It’s Christian louboutin’s snaffle, France’s Hermes scarf. The point blanket is recognized by a series of wool yarn stripes woven or sewn into one corner. They identify the size and value of the blanket.
The fashion and home decor items play off our national symbols and characteristics. Maple leaf shaped toques and beaver shoes are literal. The famous point blanket duffel bags and coats embrace the heritage but suit a modern wardrobe.
And as rumours swirl that a wealthy American investor is toying with the idea of buying what is now the last Canadian-owned department store chain, the move to bolster the store’s heritage seems fortuitous.
The 70-piece collection displayed along with artefacts from Hudson Bay archives includes blanket coats, wool sweaters, leather accessories and woven hats, socks and gloves. Artefacts on display at the opening included hockey jerseys from the 1950s when the department store had its own league. There were trading tokens and a replica of the popular capote, a fringed coat fashioned from point blankets held closed with a belt. There was a child’s coat from 1970 and a 1952 photograph of a young Queen Elizabeth wearing a fur coat, with a point blanket over her lap.
Timmins, who reports the spring collection will be inspired by sport and athletics, says the company has been fielding calls from memorabilia collectors around the world who are interested in purchasing pieces from Hbc signature.
The modern interpretations of the point coats are remarkable, says Timmins, who marvels that wherever she wears it in the world people stop her to enquire about it.
"It’s a great make-friends coat," she says, because people will always want to talk to you.
 

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