Sitting in the lounge area of Modern Ambition’s newly opened Toronto store, Georgi Gvakharia describes the space in simple terms.
“We are sitting in the living room,” he said.
The description is deliberate. Inside the approximately 1,400-square-foot store at 101 Yorkville Avenue, tailored jackets, trousers, shirts and casual pieces surround a hospitality-focused space where customers can sit, have a coffee and spend time with staff.
The Yorkville opening is also part of a much larger plan.
Georgi Gvakharia, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Retail at parent company Mondetta Clothing, told Retail Insider that Modern Ambition is targeting at least 12 to 14 stores across Canada over time. Parent company Mondetta is separately envisioning roughly 20 stores under its own banner in the Canadian market, pointing to a national physical retail strategy extending well beyond the locations announced to date.
Toronto marks a significant step in that expansion.
“We are really, really excited that we are now in Toronto, and not just in Toronto, but in Yorkville,” Gvakharia said.
The store sits amid one of Canada’s most concentrated clusters of international luxury fashion, with Chanel, Christian Louboutin, Balenciaga, Brunello Cucinelli and Stone Island all nearby. Modern Ambition is placing a Winnipeg-born menswear concept within a retail environment shaped by some of the world’s most established fashion houses.
Its proposition centres on Italian fabrics, tailored clothing, technical performance, sustainability and a hospitality-driven store experience, with prices positioned below the highest levels of European luxury.
From Winnipeg Proving Ground to Yorkville
Modern Ambition opened its first flagship in Winnipeg, where the company refined the concept before moving into larger Canadian markets.
“The purpose was really to make sure we ironed out the details, specifically the store experience, before we went into the big cities,” Gvakharia said.
The Winnipeg location allowed the company to test merchandising, service and the broader customer experience close to home. Gvakharia said Modern Ambition eventually reached a point where it was ready to branch into major markets, with Toronto an obvious priority because of its size and importance within the fashion industry.
The expansion builds on plans previously reported by Retail Insider for stores in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary. The next two locations are expected to be considerably larger than Yorkville, with both Vancouver and Calgary planned at approximately 2,700 square feet.
Gvakharia also credited Mark Chipman and True North Sports + Entertainment with supporting Modern Ambition’s first flagship at True North Square in Winnipeg, where the company developed the retail model now being carried into larger cities.
Targeting the Space Below European Luxury
At the centre of the strategy is a belief that room exists between conventional menswear and the upper reaches of global luxury.
Gvakharia said younger consumers increasingly want better materials, craftsmanship and a compelling retail experience, while also seeking a closer connection with the companies they support.
“There is that gap in the market with Gen Z, millennials and the upcoming Alpha generation,” he said. “They want that experience, but they also want to be connected to the brand.”
Modern Ambition is approaching that market through what it calls a “Technically Tailored” philosophy, combining elements of traditional menswear with stretch, lighter construction and features intended to make garments practical for travel and everyday movement.
Gvakharia described the proposition as bringing together old-school tailoring and quality fabrics at a more attainable price point for customers who may admire brands such as Brunello Cucinelli or Eleventy without shopping at those price levels.
Current pricing helps illustrate the position. Select sport jackets are listed at approximately $690, while chinos are around $285 and performance shirts around $180. The assortment sits firmly in the upper-premium market, above mass menswear and well below the highest reaches of luxury.
The fabric story is central to that strategy. Modern Ambition identifies relationships with established Italian textile companies including Marzotto, REDA, Tessuti di Sondrio and T.G. di Fabio. Pieces in the current collection use Italian fabrics across tailored jackets and other categories.
“We are bringing together great craftsmanship, old-school tailoring and quality fabrics,” Gvakharia said.
For the company, its relationship with younger consumers is also intended to extend beyond product. Parent company Mondetta Canada Inc. is a Certified B Corporation, and B Lab currently lists it with an overall B Impact Score of 109.9.
“We’re a B Corp, so this is a big part of who we are,” Gvakharia said.
He sees sustainability and corporate values as part of the relationship that many younger consumers now expect from brands.
A Retail ‘Living Room’ Built Around Hospitality
During Retail Insider’s opening-day visit, jackets, trousers, denim and casual pieces were immediately visible across the 1,400-square-foot store. The assortment was presented with enough separation to make categories easy to read, while leaving substantial room for seating and hospitality.
A large LED installation provides one of the strongest visual elements in the space. Gvakharia said similar technology is expected to appear across the wider store network.
The hospitality component is equally important. Coffee is available to customers, and a marble bar has been incorporated into the store. Gvakharia said Modern Ambition also intends to offer complimentary alcoholic beverages to guests once the appropriate licensing is in place.
“We want people to come in and hang out,” he said. “We offer coffee, we offer drinks. We want them to feel at home, connect with the brand, connect with our sales consultants and really enjoy the purchase.”
The model is designed to reduce pressure around the transaction and encourage repeat visits.
“You might come in and enjoy the space, maybe buy something, maybe come back tomorrow, and then bring your friend,” Gvakharia said.
The approach speaks to a broader challenge in premium retail. Product information and purchasing are readily accessible online, increasing the importance of stores that give customers a reason to visit, stay and return.
Modern Ambition is betting that hospitality and personal relationships can become part of the value proposition.
Tyndall Stone Carries Manitoba Into Toronto
The Yorkville store also carries a literal piece of Manitoba into Toronto through its use of Tyndall Stone, the fossil-rich limestone quarried near Garson, northeast of Winnipeg.
The distinctive material is used extensively in the Manitoba Legislative Building and has appeared in prominent architecture elsewhere in Canada. In 2023, Tyndall Stone was internationally recognized as a Global Heritage Stone Resource.
“Because the brand is from Manitoba, we are incorporating Tyndall Stone in all our stores,” Gvakharia said.
He described the material as an homage to the company’s roots and said it is intended to become a recurring design element as the network expands.
The detail gives Modern Ambition’s stores a physical connection to Manitoba regardless of market. In Yorkville, Tyndall Stone sits alongside clothing made with fabrics sourced from established Italian mills, linking the company’s Winnipeg origins with the international materials story underpinning its premium positioning.
Can a Premium Brand Scale From Winnipeg?
Modern Ambition is a relatively new name, but it sits within a much older apparel organization.
Mondetta was founded in Canada in 1986 and became widely known for its flag-themed sportswear before developing a broader apparel business. The company is now drawing on decades of sourcing, design and industry experience to build a new premium menswear proposition.
For Gvakharia, the location of that effort matters.
“Another very exciting thing for us is that we are a Canadian brand,” he said. “Traditionally, upper-premium or luxury brands are coming from Italy or France. Obviously, the U.S. has Ralph Lauren.”
He sees particular significance in attempting to build the business from Winnipeg.
“For Canada, and specifically for Winnipeg, Manitoba, to bring a premium brand to market, I think it’s very exciting,” he said.
Gvakharia also referenced Mondetta CEO Ash Modha’s view that Winnipeg can be a place where a high-end brand is created and grown.
The idea carries weight in a market where many of the best-known names in premium menswear are foreign-owned. Modern Ambition is effectively testing whether a Canadian company can build national recognition around tailoring, technical functionality, service and a distinct sense of origin.
Winnipeg adds historical context. The city has longstanding ties to Canada’s garment and apparel industries, although domestic manufacturing and fashion distribution have changed considerably over time.
Modern Ambition is pursuing a contemporary model built around Canadian brand development, international sourcing and a growing physical retail network.
Vancouver and Calgary Will Expand the Format
The rollout now moves west. The Vancouver store is planned for 918 Robson Street, one of the city’s highest-profile shopping corridors. At approximately 2,700 square feet, it will have nearly twice the footprint of the Toronto location.
Calgary is also expected to measure about 2,700 square feet. The store will open at The CORE in a premium section of the downtown shopping centre, near Harry Rosen, Birks and Rolex.
The larger footprints should give Modern Ambition more room to develop the hospitality and merchandising model first tested in Winnipeg and now introduced to Toronto.
They will also place the company in three distinct retail environments: Yorkville’s concentrated luxury district, Robson Street’s mix of international brands and high-volume urban retail, and Calgary’s growing downtown premium market.
Jeff Berkowitz of Aurora Retail Group represents Modern Ambition and negotiated the three leases.
A National Network Takes Shape
The longer-term plan extends far beyond the first four cities.
Gvakharia said the company is targeting at least 12 to 14 Modern Ambition stores across Canada. At the same time, it sees potential for roughly 20 Mondetta stores nationally.
Such a network would represent a significant physical retail presence for the Winnipeg-based company. It would also create a new operational test as a model built around hospitality, personal relationships and extended interaction with customers is carried into more cities and supported by a much larger team.
Gvakharia sees the expansion as an opportunity to create jobs while building a Canadian company at a time when many consumers are paying closer attention to where brands come from.
“With so many stores, we’re also going to create so many jobs, which is going to be great for the economy,” he said.
The scale of the plan changes the significance of the Yorkville opening. The 1,400-square-foot location is an early piece of an effort to establish a Canadian premium menswear network at a scale still relatively uncommon for homegrown brands in the category.
For now, that strategy is visible inside a store on Yorkville Avenue, where Tyndall Stone from Manitoba, fabrics from established Italian mills, technical tailoring and a hospitality bar come together under one roof.
A concept developed in Winnipeg has now arrived in one of Canada’s most competitive fashion districts. With Vancouver, Calgary and a much larger national network planned, Modern Ambition’s next challenge is turning that opening into something considerably bigger.
