Last month, after a visit to Toronto and a tour of the decidedly old-school Canada Goose jacket factory, I wrote about the company’s mysterious following in the world of Hollywood and Hip-Hop. At the Toronto facility, which doubles as Goose’s HQ, there are images on the walls of athletes, actors and rappers ensconced in the company’s famous puffy down parkas and coats.
This month, as a collaborative project with the Canadian rapper Drake, Canada Goose unveils the October’s Very Own x Canada Goose Chilliwack Jacket. It’s a $900 parka inspired by the company’s Chilliwack model, yet with hip-hop touches and design tweaks by Drake and his October’s Very Own creative collective.
The original Canada Goose Chilliwack was designed for post-war bush pilots in Canada’s northerly reaches. Drake’s version — only 300 of which are being made — is meant for urban types. Each one comes hand-numbered, and the collaborative design includes touches like a heavy nylon twill satin exterior, high pile polyester fleece lining, and a coyote-fur trim on the hood.
The special Chilliwack Jacket is warm enough for the coldest cities on the planet. It’s stuffed with the company’s eponymous down insulation and made by hand in the company’s Canada factory. Its style, subtle but with touches of flair, could easily swing Aspen or Park City this winter. For ice fishing or a Yukon sled race, you might get a few odd looks.
Drake and his crew got to keep 100 jackets out of the 300-jacket batch. The rest are reportedly for sale now at shops such as Nomad in Toronto (online only); Nom De Guerre and Nepenthes in New York; Colette in Paris; and Opening Ceremony in Los Angeles.
—Stephen Regenold
