Milan, Paris, New York—for hundreds of years these cities have built their reputations on fantastic food, festivities, and most of all, fashion. Although Canada’s fashion industry hasn’t been afforded the same rich history, cities such as Toronto, Vancouver, and Ottawa have all developed their own unique style scenes.
Exploring Ottawa’s local boutiques and vintage stores has a similar feel to hunting for treasure. You might comb an entire shop without success, or discover a gold mine sale in another. Although Ottawa is significantly smaller than other main cities in Canada, its own fashion industry has been gradually growing and is beginning to flourish.
Muriel Dombret, owner of boutique [Clothes] by Muriel Dombret in the Wellington Street West shopping area is one of the most experienced in the business.
Dombret has been designing and manufacturing clothing at her store for over 20 years, and said she has always supported other Canadian designers.
“I’m originally from Antwerp, Belgium, and I moved here in ’91, and I started my company in ’92,” Dombret said.
When asked what inspired her to open a boutique in Ottawa, of all places, she said “they needed one!”
“The fashion scene right now is a little bit different than it was 22 years ago when I started up and there was room,” she said.
Over the years, Dombret said her line has changed with her personal taste and has matured accordingly. Her designs reflect her own wardrobe, but don’t stray too far from conventional runway styles.
“I think we do modern-classics, and it’s very timeless,” Dombret said. “My line and my personal style, they’re very similar. Obviously, I’m 20 years older then when I started, so the line has evolved a little bit.”
Browsing in the Byward For the student looking to splurge, there are several other options in the Byward Market and along Wellington Street West. Shops such as Victoire, Milk, or Viens Avec Moi are all independently-owned stores that carry Canadian brands. They cater to the younger demographic in Ottawa with clothes similar to pieces you might see in your average Forever 21, but they tend to be more expensive. According to shop owners like Stephanie Hault, they come with a price tag that matches the quality. “Our buying guideline has always been ‘if it’s trendy, it should be low-cost – if it’s pricey, it should be truly special so that you can wear it for a long time,’” Hault said via email. Hault is the owner of both Trustfund and Roadtrip, two sister stores located in the heart of the market. She said her buying motto reflects the thoughts of the majority of her shoppers—price dictates quality. “This approach has really resonated with our customers – who are, on average, younger working men and women in their twenties, thirties and forties,” Hault said.
Is H&M killing the boutique scene?
The local boutiques featured here stock brands produced in Canada.
Because boutiques are small and can’t afford the lower prices of big retail giants like H&M or Urban Outfitters, it may seem as if the introduction of large fashion corporations spells the death of locally-owned shops. However, those who are more familiar with Ottawa’s fashion scene say otherwise.
Grace Odumo, editor-in-chief of the Ottawa style blog 613style said the larger stores cater to different crowds.
“Because boutiques have such a comfortable local feel, I don’t believe big stores will have a huge effect on them. People who will only shop at H&M and Nordstrom probably weren’t shopping at boutiques to begin with,” she said via email.
Odumo also said the pricey nature of boutiques and their demographic-specific clothing can also be a turn-off to people looking for a wider spread of styles.
“Big name stores have selections that most people can find themselves within . . . and for a more affordable price,” she said.
Chantal Biro-Schad, owner of the store Schad in the Byward Market, agreed with Odumo. She said retailers like Nordstrom are potential customer magnets instead of competition.
“I think the arrival of these stores are good for Ottawa and have great mass suburban appeal,” Biro-Schad said. “Boutique shoppers are very different from mall shoppers . . . You’ll never find more than three items of one style in a boutique, which ensures a more unique wardrobe to the customer.”
Hault held the same opinion.
“It likely will put Ottawa more on the map as a city that ‘has it all’ to potential tourists, and should keep Ottawans shopping here and happy,” she said.
Ottawa is concentrating on advertising itself as a fashion hub on the international scene. From Feb. 6-8, the city celebrated its 11th season of Ottawa Fashion Week (OFW), drawing celebrities and designers from all over Canada.
Striking a pose in the capital
However, Odumo, who attended OFW to report for 613style, said she was unimpressed by the effort designers put into their fall/winter runway collections.
“Borderline everything was something I’ve pretty much seen before,” said Odumo. “I was hoping for molds to be broken and trends to be created, but that didn’t happen.”
She said designers will have to rise to the challenge if they are to prove to the rest of the world that Canada can compete with the other giants of the international fashion industry.
Hussein Rashid, OFW’s executive producer, explained his position on the industry as “neutral,” given his role as an organizer of OFW.
“No fashion week out there should have an opinion of what the industry is like,” he said. “All these ventures are nothing but platforms for designers to showcase their opinion of where the market is going. In fact, a personal opinion shouldn’t be part of the conversation because it shows a bias, and that’s sort of why we’ve been so successful.”
Rashid said while some critics may have called this past season slow and lacking innovation, fashion is about gradual growth and change.
“It’s part of the creative process,” he explained. “I mean, if you’re going to put yourself out there, and expose your creative impressions in a specific medium, you put yourself out there to be criticized. I think that is a pain of being a part of that process . . . Generally, it’s a good thing.”
As for Ottawa’s ever-expanding local fashion scene, there are several different opinions about the future of couture in Canada’s capital.
“I find that our scene is pretty stagnant unfortunately, but most of this is due to attitude and lack of luxury outlets,” said Odumo. “Ottawa is one of the wealthiest cities in North America yet we have an extremely weak luxury shopping market, and what’s fashion without luxury?”
Odumo said the 2015 arrival of upscale United States department store Nordstrom in the Rideau Centre will play a major part in strengthening the luxury market, hopefully pushing the community to branch out into other style avenues.
Rashid, who has seen the fashion scene in Ottawa grow and flourish during his time working on OFW called it “a growing market, and definitely a profitable one.”
“[It’s] smaller than many others, but generally there’s been a very positive experience working with the scene here,” he said.
Biro-Schad said the Ottawa scene has been making great strides in the fashion industry and has a greater variety of shops and boutiques opening in different neighbourhoods.
“It’s still restrained because our population is smaller,” Biro-Schad said. “I feel Ottawa fashion is still a mixed bag influenced by other cities and cultural differences.”
