Moments after Harry Rosen opened the doors to its new Oakridge Park store in Vancouver, President Ian Rosen paused beside a Canali presentation and pointed out what was missing.
“One thing you’ll note here is no suits.”
The observation came early in a guided walkthrough of the approximately 17,000-square-foot store, yet it captured much of what Harry Rosen is seeking to accomplish with its newest generation of retail environments.
For decades, the company built its reputation on tailoring and formal menswear. Those categories remain central to the business. Yet at Oakridge Park, luxury sportswear, contemporary fashion, hospitality, flexible merchandising, and immersive design play a larger role than ever before.
The store represents the latest chapter in a national transformation strategy that began with a prototype renovation at West Edmonton Mall in 2024, continued with the reimagining of Harry Rosen’s First Canadian Place location in downtown Toronto, and will eventually culminate with the opening of a new flagship on Cumberland Street in Toronto’s Yorkville neighbourhood.
Oakridge Park serves as an important milestone in that evolution.
The opening comes as Oakridge Park establishes itself as one of the most ambitious luxury retail developments ever undertaken in Canada. The mixed-use project has assembled an extraordinary concentration of luxury brands, including Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Dior, Prada, Moncler, Brunello Cucinelli, Christian Louboutin and others, while additional luxury tenants continue to join the development. This fall, Giorgio Armani will open its only standalone Canadian boutique at Oakridge Park, further strengthening the project’s luxury positioning.
For Harry Rosen, the development offered an opportunity to showcase the latest evolution of a concept that has been years in development.
“We have a new concept for Harry Rosen, building off the concept store we launched in Edmonton,” Rosen said while leading Retail Insider through the space on opening day.
Building on a National Transformation
The Oakridge Park store did not emerge in isolation. In 2024, Harry Rosen unveiled a prototype store design at West Edmonton Mall as part of a broader $50 million investment program aimed at modernizing its physical stores. The project introduced new approaches to merchandising, customer service, hospitality, and store design.
Many of those ideas later appeared at First Canadian Place in Toronto’s financial district.
At Oakridge Park, they have been refined even further. Rather than simply updating finishes or fixtures, Harry Rosen has rethought how customers move through the store, how products are presented, and how service is delivered. The result is a retail environment that feels noticeably different from the traditional menswear stores many customers may remember.
Luxury Partnerships Take Centre Stage
One of the first things customers encounter is a stronger emphasis on luxury sportswear and contemporary fashion. Canali’s presentation serves as an example.
While the brand remains closely associated with tailoring, the assortment at Oakridge Park places considerable emphasis on luxury casualwear and sportswear, reflecting broader changes occurring throughout the menswear market.
The same philosophy extends throughout the store. Dedicated luxury environments for ZEGNA and TOM FORD anchor the assortment, while contemporary brands such as Stone Island and Represent introduce a more fashion-forward perspective.
Among the most notable additions is Harry Rosen’s first dedicated Isaia shop-in-shop. The Neapolitan tailoring brand occupies a prominent position within the store and provides a distinctive complement to the retailer’s existing luxury assortment.
“We felt like a Neapolitan, expressive tailoring brand was the right thing to complement ZEGNA, Canali and Tom Ford,” Rosen said.
The addition reflects Harry Rosen’s ongoing strategy of deepening relationships with luxury brands while creating more immersive environments for customers.
The Kingdom Reimagines Tailoring
Although sportswear receives increased attention throughout the store, tailoring remains fundamental to Harry Rosen’s identity.
One of the most impressive areas within the new location is a dedicated tailoring destination known internally as “The Kingdom.”
The space feels less like a traditional menswear department and more like a luxury tailoring lounge.
Multiple brands are presented within a single environment, allowing customers to compare options across labels without moving between separate branded areas.
Canali, Giorgio Armani, ZEGNA, Harold (Harry Rosen’s private label), and other collections are merchandised together around customer needs rather than brand boundaries.
According to Rosen, the concept reflects how many customers actually shop today.
“So many people walk into our stores and simply say they need a suit,” he explained. “Rather than focusing on a specific brand, we can bring them into the right environment and help them find the best solution.”
Private fitting salons surround the area, creating a more intimate setting for customers purchasing tailored clothing and made-to-measure garments.
Hospitality also plays a central role. Customers can enjoy espresso, champagne, or a scotch while working with associates, transforming what has traditionally been a transactional purchase into a more personalized experience.
The concept reflects a broader shift occurring throughout luxury retail, where service and experience increasingly differentiate physical stores from online shopping.
Design Inspired by the Craft of Tailoring
The Oakridge Park store was designed in collaboration with Toronto-based dkstudio architects inc., incorporating numerous references to tailoring and menswear craftsmanship throughout the space.
Among the most memorable design elements is the tailoring area itself. Featuring curved forms instead of traditional right angles, the space was inspired by the shape of tailor’s shears.
“There are a bunch of menswear inspirations in the whole design,” Rosen said.
The philosophy extends across the entire store.
“You’ll notice there’s really no hard edges. We wanted a natural flow through the space.”
The result is an environment that feels remarkably cohesive. Rounded architectural forms, curved walls, and carefully planned sightlines guide customers through the store while creating a sense of movement and discovery.
Among the most visually striking areas is the footwear department, where sweeping curved walls frame a dramatic display fixture inspired by a measuring tape. The area serves as one of the store’s defining visual statements and reinforces the broader tailoring narrative that runs throughout the design.
Together, the design elements create a store that feels both contemporary and connected to Harry Rosen’s heritage.
A Store Designed to Change
Near the centre of the store is a flexible merchandising area known internally as “Center Stage.” Unlike traditional retail environments where displays can remain unchanged for extended periods, Center Stage was designed to evolve continuously.
A ceiling-mounted track system allows fixtures and displays to be repositioned for seasonal presentations, pop-up concepts, brand activations, and other merchandising initiatives.
“This could be a pop-up shop for a brand. It could be an outerwear shop. It could be a gift shop. It could be anything,” Rosen said.
The goal is to ensure customers encounter something different each time they visit.
“We don’t want clients seeing the same thing twice.”
The philosophy extends beyond Center Stage.
Throughout the store, much of the inventory has been moved behind the scenes into dedicated back-stock areas, allowing styling, visual merchandising, and product storytelling to take precedence over product density.
“The client needs to see the ideas now,” Rosen said.
The approach represents a meaningful departure from older retail models that prioritized displaying as much inventory as possible on the sales floor.
Built Specifically for Vancouver
The Oakridge Park store was designed with Vancouver in mind.
Luxury sportswear and contemporary fashion play a larger role throughout the assortment than many customers might expect from a traditional menswear retailer.
Brands such as Stone Island and Represent are featured alongside established luxury names including ZEGNA, Canali, Hugo Boss, Emporio Armani, and TOM FORD.
“We’re definitely bringing a lot more contemporary fashion for the Vancouver market,” Rosen said.
While Harry Rosen’s heritage remains rooted in tailoring, the Oakridge Park store places noticeably greater emphasis on luxury casualwear than many traditional menswear environments. The merchandise mix reflects both the character of the Vancouver market and broader shifts occurring across luxury fashion, where versatility and lifestyle-driven dressing continue to gain importance.
Part of a Broader Evolution
The Oakridge Park store represents the latest step in Harry Rosen’s ongoing store transformation strategy.
What began with a prototype renovation at West Edmonton Mall has since expanded to First Canadian Place in Toronto and now Oakridge Park, with a new flagship on Cumberland Street in Yorkville expected to open in the coming months.
Each project has further refined concepts around hospitality, merchandising, design, and customer experience, while maintaining the tailoring expertise that has defined the company for decades.
Moments after opening, Rosen pointed to a Canali presentation and observed that there were no suits. By the end of the tour, the reasoning had become clear.
Tailoring remains fundamental to Harry Rosen’s identity, but the company’s newest stores are being designed around a broader vision of luxury menswear, one that incorporates sportswear, hospitality, flexibility, design, and experience alongside the craftsmanship that built the business.
“We’ve built a store that we think is incredible for every type of guy that’s going to be shopping through Harry Rosen,” Rosen said. “And we’ve built it specifically for the Vancouver market.”
More from Retail Insider:
- Oakridge Park Opens to Crowds in Vancouver
- Harry Rosen Unveils New Prototype Store Design with Overhaul to West Edmonton Mall Location [Photos/Interview]
- Harry Rosen Opens New Store in Downtown Toronto
- Harry Rosen to Relocate Bloor Street Flagship to New Cumberland Street Premises in Toronto
