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The design

This first step is done in-house by our president & founder, Mr Yves Trudeau. All year long we gather comments and feedback from our customers, retailers, buyers & staff and also from within our team. Of course we also rely on our expertise, more than 35 years in product development. From one year to the next, we challenge ourselves to create & offer you the best collection possible. Constant evolution is part of our philosophy.

Fabric selection

Great new fabrics hit the shelves with each new season and every year we take a trip to Munich for ISPO, the International Sporting Goods Trade Fair (better know under the name of Internationale Fachmesse fur Sportartikel Und Sportmode ?) to select amongst them for our new line. Our goal is to surpass ourselves every season by offering exceptional & distinctive garments.

Pattern making

Once the design of a new garment is made, it is time for the next step: the pattern making. This complex step is the responsibility of Yves Trudeau, the founder of the company.
Basically each piece of the garment will be transposed onto a piece of cardboard. These are then cut out essentially unwinding the DNA of the parka. You can imagine that a winter coat is way more complex than a summer dress (about 2 pieces) or polo (5 to 8 pieces). On average, our coats have between 115 and 180 pieces. The pattern maker has to think about everything and be extremely precise in the proportion of each of them, so the jacket fits and falls well. Generally speaking, it’s rare to master both arts ‘’design’’ & ‘’pattern making’’. We are pretty lucky; Mr Trudeau is a master of both!

The first sample

Once the pattern is made it’s time to give it a try! The pieces are first traced and then cut from a roll of fabric, then the jig saw puzzle commences to put the pieces back together. The liner, insulation and outer fabrics are assembled, zippers and snaps are attached, and the parka is ready for a test run! We look at the fit of the garment, the comfort, the way it falls, and we are evaluating its proportions & look. If everything is as the artist imagined, the style is added to the collection, sometimes, a few adjustments are necessary to make it palatable. When the collection is complete we proceed to the production of the samples that our representatives will use to show the line to your local retailers.

The period of commercialization

From the end of November to early February our team presents the new collection to the retailer’s. To do so, we strut our stuff at some key trade shows. Most of these shows are for industry specialists and aren’t open to the public. We greet our retailers at our showroom and have a chance to visit others directly at their booths. Like a big shopping spree, the store owners and buyers decide what their stores will look like during the following fall/winter season, which colours, sizes, styles and makes will best suit their clientele.

Compilation & purchasing

By compiling all our orders we identify which styles we will produce and we order all of the materials we need to do so. The list of things we order is quite extensive! From fabrics (outside shell, lining, baffles, micro-fleece, pellon) to trimmings (snaps, velcros, zippers, zipper-puller, cord-tip, etc) to bungees, down, synthetic insulation, furs and so on.

Production

Starts right away when our bookings are done, we even start some of the more successful styles before!

Digitalizing/grading

In order to accurately cut each piece of the garment they first need to be digitalized. Then each piece is graded following a set of specific rules so all of our garments fit well, Even with styles that have up to 10 sizes (2XS to 5XL). All those pieces have to be placed in the most optimal way on a marker to reduce any waste (outside fabric, lining, and synthetic insulation).