On the third floor of Holt Renfrew’s Bloor Street flagship in Toronto, one of Canada’s best-known apparel names is beginning a new chapter in physical retail.
Mondetta Originals opened a colourful pop-up on June 29 within ON3, Holt Renfrew’s extensively redeveloped third floor. The temporary shop is scheduled to run until Thursday July 16, placing the Winnipeg-founded brand in a flexible activation zone that has hosted a changing roster of international and Canadian labels since the floor’s transformation.
For Mondetta, the pop-up is an early step in a much larger plan.
Georgi Gvakharia, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Retail at Mondetta Clothing, told Retail Insider that the company is developing a new generation of permanent Mondetta stores, with the first locations targeted for fall 2027 and a longer-term Canadian network that could ultimately reach roughly 20 stores.
Aurora Retail Group is representing both Mondetta and Modern Ambition in their Canadian retail expansion strategies. Jeff Berkowitz, Co-CEO of Aurora Retail Group, is leading the real estate search as the company evaluates locations for permanent stores across the country.
The planned locations are expected to span approximately 3,000 to 5,000 square feet, depending on the market and available real estate. Winnipeg is confirmed as one of the first cities, while the company is evaluating opportunities in western Canada as it works toward a possible launch of two or three stores at roughly the same time.
“It’s a great introduction, or really a reintroduction, of the brand to consumers from a direct-to-consumer perspective,” Gvakharia said of the Holt Renfrew pop-up.
Forty years after Mondetta was founded in Winnipeg, the company is preparing to rebuild a direct physical relationship with Canadian consumers.
A Physical Reintroduction at Holt Renfrew
Gvakharia said the Holt Renfrew activation is significant because it gives Canadian consumers their first current opportunity to walk into a physical store, see and feel Mondetta Originals product and buy it in person.
The collection has been available online, but the Bloor Street pop-up marks a return to physical consumer-facing retail for Originals.
“Originals is the DNA of the brand,” Gvakharia said. “That’s where Mondetta began in 1986.”
He pointed to the flag-bearing shirts and other pieces that helped introduce Mondetta to consumers and became closely associated with the company during its early growth.
The timing of the activation is deliberate. Gvakharia said major international football events created a natural backdrop for a brand whose identity has long been tied to flags, countries and ideas of global connection.
The pop-up sits within ON3, the extensively redeveloped third floor of Holt Renfrew’s 50 Bloor Street West flagship.
The history of the space gives the Mondetta placement added context. ON3 has become a visible setting for temporary activations involving both major international labels and Canadian brands introducing new concepts or reconnecting with consumers.
“We had the opportunity to partner with Holt Renfrew on a pop-up here at the Bloor Street flagship,” Gvakharia said. “It’s a very beautiful, colourful shop on the third floor.”
He said sales and customer response have been strong. Gvakharia also said Mondetta is discussing other opportunities with Holt Renfrew, though he declined to provide details.
Forty Years After Mondetta’s Founding
Mondetta traces its origins to Winnipeg in 1986 and became widely recognized for flag-bearing apparel that turned international identity into a distinctive fashion statement.
The company’s own historical account traces its beginnings to homemade T-shirts sold from a pushcart before the idea for flag apparel emerged after one of the founders saw a German flag attached to a Volkswagen Beetle.
The concept became central to Mondetta’s early identity. The name reflects the same global outlook. Mondetta combines “monde,” the French word for world, with a suffix intended to convey the idea of a smaller, more connected world.
Over time, the business expanded well beyond the flag apparel that many consumers still associate with the name.
Gvakharia described the broader brand structure as including Mondetta Originals, the main Mondetta label focused on everyday essentials, and MPG, or Mondetta Performance Gear, centred on active and performance apparel. Modern Ambition, the company’s newer premium menswear concept, is developing separately through its own store expansion.
The coming Mondetta stores are expected to bring several parts of that business into a single consumer-facing environment.
New Stores Planned for Fall 2027
Gvakharia said the company is targeting fall 2027 for the first permanent locations under the new Mondetta concept, with tentative timing around August or September.
Winnipeg will be among the first.
“Winnipeg is definitely going to be one of the first locations,” he said, adding that the company is considering launching two or three stores simultaneously.
Beyond Winnipeg, the initial real estate search appears to be weighted toward western Canada.
Gvakharia specifically mentioned Calgary and Edmonton among markets being evaluated.
“We want to start in the west and then gradually move east,” he said.
At the centre of the concept will be what Gvakharia described as everyday essentials.
“It will be hoodies, T-shirts, fleece and the kinds of pieces we think of as everyday essentials,” he said.
The company uses “World Outfitters” as a tagline for Mondetta, extending the international identity that has shaped the brand since its early years.
Mondetta Originals will be incorporated into the stores, as will MPG.
“Mondetta Originals will be sold through the stores, and there will also be an MPG shop featuring Mondetta Performance Gear,” Gvakharia said. “The goal is to bring the broader Mondetta family together.”
The planned format extends well beyond a heritage revival. Originals gives the company a recognizable connection to its past, while everyday essentials and performance apparel broaden the offer into a larger lifestyle proposition.
That distinction is important. Mondetta is not preparing a chain of nostalgia-driven flag-shirt stores. It is developing a multi-category retail concept intended to present the wider brand to consumers.
A New Consumer Collection Under Normand Brouillette
The physical retail rollout will be accompanied by a new consumer collection being developed under creative director Normand Brouillette.
Gvakharia said Brouillette and his team had been working on the collection for approximately three months at the time of the interview, with the assortment being developed for Mondetta’s renewed direct-to-consumer push.
The appointment brings an interesting strand of Canadian fashion history into the company’s next phase.
Brouillette previously held a senior creative role at Jacob, the once-prominent Canadian fashion chain. He was the retailer’s artistic director during a period when Jacob remained a significant national apparel name.
His earlier career also included work far removed from conventional chain retail. Media reports connected Brouillette with handmade gowns created for Kim Cattrall and Angelina Jolie.
That combination gives Mondetta a creative director with experience across very different parts of the fashion business.
Jacob offered exposure to the demands of designing for a scaled Canadian retail organization. His red-carpet work points to a more elevated and image-driven side of design.
The background is especially relevant because Mondetta is not simply reproducing archive product. It is developing a new collection while preparing permanent stores, expanding its digital consumer offer and determining how a 40-year-old Canadian brand should present itself to a new generation.
“We’re preparing to bring the collection directly to consumers next fall,” Gvakharia said.
DTC First as Mondetta Seeks Control of the Experience
The company plans to prioritize its own direct-to-consumer channels before pursuing a broader expansion through wholesale.
Historically, Mondetta product was available through multi-brand retailers. Gvakharia said the company now wants to establish the next version of the brand through channels where it can control how consumers encounter it.
“Right now, we want to focus on our own direct-to-consumer business so we can properly introduce the brand and the experience we want customers to have,” he said.
That control extends from product presentation to store design and staff interaction.
“I think it is critical at the beginning of a DTC rollout that consumers truly experience the brand,” Gvakharia said. “We want to control that experience from the product itself through to what happens in the store.”
The objective is to establish recognition and a loyal customer base before widening distribution.
“We want to build that fan base first, and then we can explore broader wholesale opportunities,” he said.
The approach marks a notable shift from the wholesale channels through which many consumers encountered Mondetta in earlier decades. This time, the company wants to define the product, environment and customer relationship itself before broadening distribution.
Gvakharia did not rule out future wholesale opportunities. He also pointed to possible concession formats, shop-in-shops and collaborations as the wider business develops, including opportunities outside North America.
Digital Rebrand Sets Up the Next Phase
The physical strategy is being accompanied by a broader digital refresh. Gvakharia said Mondetta has completed a significant rebranding of its online presence and is preparing to introduce a dedicated direct-to-consumer collection through the website.
“We’ve completely refreshed the online side of the brand, giving it a new look and feel,” he said.
The current digital presentation gives Mondetta Originals and the company’s heritage a visible role while positioning Mondetta as a broader apparel business.
Gvakharia said the new consumer collection could become available online several months before the first permanent stores open. The sequence points to a phased reintroduction: a refreshed digital identity, selective physical activations such as Holt Renfrew, a new consumer collection online and then permanent stores beginning in fall 2027.
Up to 20 Stores Envisioned Across Canada
The longer-term plan is substantial. Gvakharia told Retail Insider that the company sees potential for roughly 20 Mondetta stores across Canada.
Such a network would represent a significant return to direct physical retail for the Winnipeg-based company and would operate alongside the separate growth of Modern Ambition, which is pursuing its own national store rollout.
For Mondetta, the immediate focus is on refining the concept, developing the collection and securing the first locations. Stores in the 3,000-to-5,000-square-foot range would allow the company to present heritage, everyday essentials and performance product within a single branded environment.
The company remains headquartered in Winnipeg and also maintains an office in Shanghai, an office in Jordan and a showroom in New York City, according to Gvakharia. As its consumer business expands, he said additional satellite offices could eventually be considered, potentially including Toronto.
For now, the most visible expression of the strategy is temporary. Inside Holt Renfrew’s ON3 environment, Mondetta Originals is reconnecting physically with Canadian consumers while a much larger retail plan develops behind the scenes.
Forty years after the company was founded, Mondetta is preparing permanent stores, a new consumer collection under Normand Brouillette and a direct-to-consumer network that could ultimately reach roughly 20 locations.
The flag-bearing apparel provides the clearest link to the brand many Canadians remember. The larger task now is defining the Mondetta they will encounter next.
