Innovative eco-friendly US-based women’s fashion brand Reformation has opened a 500 square foot pop-up location at Holt Renfrew in Calgary. The retail space is intended to test the waters in the Calgary market after entering Canada before the pandemic with its first permanent store.
The pop-up is located on the second floor of the Calgary Holt Renfrew store, in an area containing other contemporary brands. It’s the first time that Reformation has opened a pop-up location in Canada. The Calgary pop-up is eco-friendly with Reformation offsetting 100% of the electricity used during the pop-up with wind energy, according to the company.
The Calgary Holt Renfrew store recently renewed its lease in the city’s downtown core, and is one of the key anchors of the CORE shopping complex that spans several city blocks. The second floor of Holts is also home to a women’s designer department that houses some of the world’s top brands, such as Akris, Brunello Cucinelli, Chloé, Dolce & Gabbana, Moncler, and others. The store’s main floor houses concessions for Chanel, Hermes, Tiffany & Co., Loro Piana and this fall, Gucci will open a large ‘world of’ space at the centre of it all.
Reformation opened its first Canadian store in the summer of 2019 at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre. In late 2022, a second location opened on Yorkville Avenue in Toronto. The 87 Yorkville Avenue store features Retail X “magic wardrobes” dressing rooms. Touchscreen monitors allow customers to digitally choose the styles they’d like to try on while shopping. The consumer’s selections will then populate into one of the store’s dressing rooms.
Reformation, known for its sustainability focus, is also known for being a “cool girl” clothing company (as stated in Allure). Reformation has become popular amongst celebrities such as Rihanna, Taylor Swift, and model Karlie Kloss and the celebrity endorsements have reportedly led to the brand seeing strong sales exceeding $100 million annually. The company says that its goal is to create designs that are ‘sexy, edgy and feminine’, utilizing sustainable methods and materials.
Reformation began by selling vintage clothing out of a small Los Angeles storefront in 2009. The brand quickly expanded into making its ‘own stuff’, with a focus on sustainability. In 2019 Reformation announced that it had sold a majority stake to Permira Funds, a private equity firm known for investing in labels such as Valentino and Proenza Schouler.
