Joe Fresh

A first of many firsts.

Joseph Mimran stands outside 540 Granville Street, chin on palm, contemplating the building in front of him. It’s a satisfied look on his face; sandwiched between two heritage buildings is a sleek white facade with bright orange letters spelling his name: Joe. Fast-forward a few nights later and Mimran is in that very building, tearing it up on an impromptu dance floor with top models Irina Lazareanu, Tiiu Kuik, and Arlenis Sosa. The gentleman has every reason to celebrate: it’s the grand opening of his first stand-alone Joe Fresh Style boutique.

The models are familiar to anyone who hasn’t been living under a rock—for weeks their faces had been plastered on billboards, in bus shelters and in SkyTrain stations around the city leading up to this event. It marks an important moment not only for the Joe Fresh brand, but for the Canadian apparel industry at large. The Vancouver opening is only a minutia of the four-year-old brand’s aggressive plans to serve up fast fashion. They have a series of stand-alone stores scheduled to open in cities across Canada, but chose Vancouver as their flagship because “like the brand, it is a modern and youthful city” and “is a gateway to Asia”, Mimran says. But fashion lovers of all stripes and colours will take interest in the brand. His carefully edited collections evoke a refined sensibility that’s uncommon in the mass market. You might even call it refreshing.

Photo: George Pimentel.

Categories:

Post Date:

December 6, 2010