Canadian lifestyle apparel brand DUER is partnering with DesignTO, Canada’s largest design festival.
From January 24 to February 2, DUER’s Ossington storefront in Toronto will feature an interactive window installation and exhibition by multidisciplinary artist Ruth Wickremesooriya.
“I am personally very sensitive to aesthetics and design and this has led to a fascination for how good design enhances almost everything –from how we work to how we move through the world; our involvement with DesignTO complements this philosophy,” said Gary Lenett, CEO of DUER.
Wickremesooriya’s installation, titled Let’s Be Honest, features hundreds of denim “leaves” meticulously hand-woven from deconstructed DUER jeans. Suspended in a minimalist tree form, the piece invites viewers to choose a leaf, untie it, reflect on a disappointment, and release it to the ground.
Let’s be Honest is part of Wickremesooriya’s multi-work exhibition called Winter Waiting, which will be on display at DUER Ossington throughout the festival. Each piece in the collection uses discarded denim as its primary medium, underscoring a commitment to sustainability and creative reuse.
“Collaborating with DUER was an obvious fit,” said Wickremesooriya. “We share common values: a love of denim and natural materials, and a desire to create something beautiful and lasting beyond trends and seasons.”
“We’re thrilled to be collaborating with DUER, a brand that shares our passion for creativity,” said Jeremy Vandermeij, Executive Director of DesignTO.
DesignTo is a non-profit arts organization celebrating 15 years of designing a sustainable, just, and joyful future. From January 24-February 2 DesignTO Festival features 100+ free events across Toronto, showcasing hundreds of artists and designers. Known as Canada’s largest annual design festival, DesignTO has welcomed over 1 million attendees, reached 2.6 billion people through media, showcased 6,500+ artists, and generated $120 million in tourism impact.
“The genesis of our connection to this initiative stems from our latest fabric program, Stretch Canvas. Many of our customers work in film and creative fields and have been looking for a softer, more flexible alternative to traditional canvas. This new fabric—designed with artists and craftspeople in mind, but not limited to them — combined with our goal of bringing energy into our stores through engaging installations, are what led us to partner with DesignTO,” said Lenett.
“It’s a mutually beneficial partnership in that an emerging artist can showcase their work to our customer base, while DUER has the chance to introduce new visitors to the brand. Someone might hear about the exhibition, step into our store for the first time, and walk away with a whole new understanding of our brand and product vision. Ideally the partnership will create a space where both things happen naturally.
“As for location, Ossington was the obvious choice for this initiative—it’s one of Toronto’s most creative neighborhoods, packed with independent shops, galleries, and design studios. With DesignTO bringing the city’s creative scene together, it just made sense to create a window installation here for the festival and make our store part of the conversation.”
Lenett said this activation made perfect sense for Toronto and DesignTO, and that’s something the retailer always considers—the in-store experiences need to feel natural and relevant to the city.
“We’ve done everything in the past year from hosting bike maintenance workshops in Vancouver ahead of the Whistler Gran Fondo to film screenings in Calgary tied to the Banff Film Festival and are always looking for ways to bring our stores to life through the right partnerships and events that will resonate with the local community,” he said.
DUER has 10 stores across North America, and Lenett said the brand has its sights set on expanding this store count in the US as early as May.
“In addition to opening up along the U.S. West Coast, we’re looking at secondary locations in key Canadian cities like Toronto and Vancouver. Beyond our dedicated storefronts, we’re continuing to grow our network of Wholesale partners across North America. We have also started to grow our brand awareness in Europe and the UK,” he said.
“Beyond our dedicated storefronts, our network of wholesale partners across North America continues to grow dramatically. We also continue to grow our brand awareness in Europe and the UK.
“Elsewhere, we’re really excited about what’s ahead in product innovation. Our first spring drop has just launched, and we’re gearing up to introduce some brand-new denim lines in the coming months as we continue to push the boundaries of performance meets lifestyle apparel.”
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