Upscale Toronto-based women’s fashion brand SMYTHE has opened its first standalone storefront in Toronto’s affluent Rosedale shopping area. The beautiful boutique space is an embodiment of the brand and more locations could open according to SMYTH’s co-founders.
The new 1,250 square foot store is located at 1116 Yonge Street, replacing previous tenant Aesop. The new SMYTHE store features a front area housing fashions and a back area that acts as a private gathering place and flex area. The aesthetic for the store was developed in collaboration with interior designers, Ashley Botten (Ashley Botten Designs) and Tommy Smythe (TOM).
Andrea Lenczner and Christie Smythe founded the SMYTHE brand in 2004 with a goal of creating the perfect women’s tailored blazer. The brand now carries a range of women’s ready-to-wear items and the brand now also has a new fragrance in partnership with perfume brand Fueguia 1833.
The Toronto store is the only physical space to carry the brand’s capsule collection SMYTHEHOUSE, which is described as being a “collection of archetypal SMYTHE silhouettes reimagined in seasonless fabrics and colours.” The collection is also available online.
For years SMYTHE has had wholesale distribution in Canada as well as globally. According to co-founder Andrea Lenczner, opening a Toronto store allows SMYTHE to showcase its wares in its “purest” form while embodying the brand and getting face-to-face feedback from consumers. The store design and curated fashions within reflect SMYTHE’s brand DNA she said.
The store is located in a “community” rather than a busy shopping centre. The community feel is something that the duo decided was important for the launch of SMYTHE’s brick-and-mortar expansion.
The goal is to augment SMYTHE’s existing distribution which includes prestigious multi-brand retailers including Nordstrom, Holt Renfrew, Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus.
More SMYTHE storefronts could open in Canada and beyond. Co-founder Christie Smythe noted that in Canada, the Calgary and Montreal markets sell well while in the United States, the New York City, Los Angeles and Nashville markets are showing significant promise and in the future, SMYTHE could look at opening standalone stores.
Aurora Realty Consultants represents SMYTHE under the direction of brokers Jeri Brodie and Jeff Berkowitz who are helping lead the store expansion with strategy and lease negotiations. According to Aurora’s website, the ideal SMYTHE storefront would be between 1,000-1,500 square feet and be located in upscale shopping areas near home furnishing retailers, fitness and cafés.
