Montréal: Fashion capital of Canada

Did your jaw drop when you saw Zendaya’s dress at the Odyssey premiere? It was designed in Montréal. With shopping streets packed with unique boutiques and creative neighbourhoods full of independent ateliers coming up with what’s next, the city thrives on style. Whether you’re interested in cutting edge looks or timeless haute couture, Montréal’s fashion industry doesn’t follow trends — it sets them.

MAD for fashion

Standing for its stylish trifecta of topics, “mode, arts et divertissements,” MAD Festival takes over the downtown core every summer to bring fashion, arts and entertainment to all passersby. From the open-air pop-up boutique village set up at Place des Festivals to the live music, interesting talks and bombastic afterparties, the event is a free celebration of local designers that draws crowds of thousands. It speaks to Montréal’s love of aesthetics, creativity and dedication to craftsmanship.

Celebrating style every day

Montréal has long been recognized as Canada’s fashion capital and one of North America’s leading clothing-manufacturing centres. Beyond its reputation for creativity, design and craftsmanship, the city sits at the heart of an industry with considerable economic clout. Let the latest numbers do the talking:

• Québec’s fashion sector generates an estimated $10.2 billion in annual economic impact, including $6.9 billion in direct GDP impact
• The industry encompasses 6,842 businesses across Québec
• Québec is home to 455 establishments in apparel manufacturing, i.e. approximately 43% of the national total
• Québec’s fashion industry supports 93,520 jobs, with 58% located in the Greater Montréal region
• Montréal is also home to a robust fashion-training ecosystem, with specialized programs spanning vocational, college and university education, including at UQÀM, Collège LaSalle and Cégep Marie-Victorin

With its strategic location mid-way between the American and European markets, the tech-forward logistics hub that is Montréal is a logical place for the international fashion and design industry. The government’s commitment to innovation and creativity, via tailor made incentives and financial support, helps anchor the industry that much further, making Montréal’s one of the most competitive operating costs in North America and giving the city a higher purchasing power than in other major cities in North America and Europe.

Montréal’s fashion and design roots

Since being named an UNESCO City of Design in 2006, Montréal has remained a hotbed of creativity and forward thinking. It’s a cultural metropolis that welcomes creatives with open arms, making it one of the most active startup cities in the world as well. 

Though fashion and design have been transformed by globalization, Montréal has continually reinvented itself through new business models, homegrown creativity and brands with increasingly international reach. From luxury outerwear and cult streetwear to footwear, denim and accessories, Montréal continues to punch well above its weight on the global fashion scene. Here are just some of the successful brands with roots in or strong ties to the city:

• Aldo
• Dime
• Frank And Oak
• JJJJound
• La Canadienne
• Lolë
• Mackage
• Matt & Nat
• Moose Knuckles
• Naked & Famous Denim
• Pajar
• Quartz Co.
• RUDSAK
• WANT Les Essentiels
• m0851

The industry’s success is a testament to quick-thinking innovation, creativity and collaboration — traits that most of Montréal’s most successful industries have in common.