From Gossip Girl to the Princess of Wales: how Smythe sustained its fashion success story for 20 years

Before speaking with Smythe co-designers Andrea Lenczner and Christie Smythe about the Canadian fashion brand’s twentieth anniversary this fall, I revisited my substantial archive of writing about them.

On their 5th anniversary, for instance, the duo reminisced about meeting legendary fashion director Julie Gilhart, “the pope of Barney’s,” the department store in New York. Her feedback as she breezed through their first buying appointment and flicked through the clothing samples: an approving, “cute, cute, super cute.”

Over the years, our many conversations have been marked by similar milestones – such as when one of their signature fitted tartan jackets made a cameo on Gossip Girl – as well as defining moments including the 2011 British royal tour of Canada when, in an act of sartorial diplomacy, their single-button Duchess blazer became a repeat favourite of Kate Middleton and earned the brand international attention (it remains a bestseller).

The kind of longevity that Smythe enjoys is rare in the Canadian fashion industry. “One of the reasons we’ve been around for a while is we’ve been very conservative in terms of how we operate the business,” Lenczner says. “Other players in the industry grew faster than we did – we were always slow and steady. And now we see how it served us.”

The original sales hook in 2004, when Smythe debuted as a stand-alone brand of fitted tailored jackets, was as an outfit’s “finishing piece” during the designer jeans boom. Their silhouettes now run the gamut from the trim longline 70s-inspired Birkin to the literally Massive One Button blazer. In between, there’s a boxy 90s boyfriend blazer and the Not a DB, an assertive lean cut that gives the illusion of a double-breasted power jacket, which has become so popular that it’s spawned its own suiting collection.

“It’s taken time,” Smythe adds, referring to the art of steadily building a solid wholesale business before launching e-commerce, or making the leap from a jackets-only brand to full ready-to-wear in 2016, or opening a flagship boutique in Toronto (and, this past spring, another in Calgary), even a signature fragrance.

Building on popular favourites while also satisfying their own creative sparks “is a dance,” Lenczner admits. But her co-designer explains that the two are not dichotomous. “We don’t want to alienate the woman who really likes something quite tailored,” Smythe says. “We serve that existing customer, but we also want to inspire her into new things.”

Iterations of Smythe’s beloved blazers, statement suits and shirred blouses appear every season in new eye-catching fabrics that are also, increasingly, unique to the brand. Twenty years ago, Lenczner says, they were neither fluent in the language of textile design nor had the confidence to express their own sensibility. Their design process has since evolved to include customizing prints, scale and colour with textile mills.

To mark their 20th, a forthcoming anniversary capsule line featuring six striking pieces, including tuxedo pants, a blazer dress, and a gilet (a fitted men’s-wear-inspired vest that’s a sexy cross between a cummerbund and a corset), will debut on Sept. 26.

“People really associate us with print and colour,” Smythe says. “I think most people would’ve expected us to do something really nostalgic, because so many of our original silhouettes are still in production, but this felt a bit more surprising – and more fun for us, too.”

For more, visit shopsmythe.ca.