Making an Entrance at -30ºC
Updated: Sep 30, 2018
Being native to Canada, I know how cold our winters can be and - let’s be honest, a lot of winter outerwear is really, REALLY ugly. Why should I need to wear something super basic and unflattering just to stay warm? Why should my best fashion moments stop just because it’s -30 outside? I recently stumbled upon the Instagram account of a very modern Toronto-based outerwear design collective and after hearing their story I had to share it with all of you. Let me introduce you to HISO.
Starting their business in 1975, this second generation family-run company stands out among Canadian outerwear designers. The quality of HISO’s jackets are nothing short of luxury. They design with hides sourced from all over Europe to ensure the highest of quality and each piece is a byproduct of the food industry or from sheep that have died of natural causes. After chatting with the designers, I was curious about how a company like HISO is able to survive in an ever-changing fashion landscape for over 40 years to which they responded,
“We design it, We craft it, We live it;”
“(The) last point is truly the one that matters, we take an immense amount of pride in crafting our garments.” In a world of fast fashion, I think the designers of HISO are so right that the continued success of their brand comes down to the quality and service of which they are known for. I have gone hiking in some freezing conditions this winter in a few different styles of HISO coats and can tell you that they were the warmest outerwear pieces I have ever worn. I can go right from exploring the Green Belt outside of Toronto to an event and always look my strongest. I am so impressed by the variety of designs that HISO offers within their collections. Each piece will guarantee you a memorable entrance or exit at any event.
After wearing and styling pieces of their FW17 collection, I noticed that shearling was used in many different forms throughout the season. I wondered if shearling was having a resurgence in fashion. The use of shearling dates back to before 4000 BC and we have seen surges of this design detail over many eras. 1950’s icons like James Dean rocking a shearling bomber jacket contrasted its use in the Victorian era with lined menswear jackets and hats. It wasn’t until the 1980’s that long shearling trenches were popular statement pieces again and we can’t forget the viral success of Ugg’s in the late 1990’s.
Balmain, Nicholas K, Saint Laurent and Sonia Rykiel FW17 collections all had a resurgence of the use of shearling in their collections. Is shearling the future of the fur industry in a modern era or just another trend that will disappear for another 10 years?
What do you think? Comment below and share your thoughts on this.