Though we may find ourselves rolling our eyes are the sheer quantity and heightened frequency of collaborations across fashion and sneakers, we've long reached the juncture at which we accept it's par for the course.
Regardless of how thick and fast they may come, designers and retailers of all scales dream of dipping their toes into the waters of their favorite brands. For UNION LA, collaborations are dreams turned reality, seeing the retailer reach the world and achieve global desirability.
Thanks to the incredible success of its Nike collaborations, which has boasted high-flying flagship styles including the Dunk Low, Air Jordan 1, Air Jordan 4, and Cortez, UNION is a stamp of approval for which the biggest names in the industry clammer.
Forming part of Canada Goose's multi-year partnership with the NBA, UNION's interpretation of the Canadian heritage brand sees its iconic outerwear styles take on a new form in a unique blend of SOCAL style and Canadian extreme weather sensibilities.
To better understand the creative processes that birthed the recently released collection, UNION founder Chris Gibbs joined Highsnobiety to unwrap the layers of the UNION x NBA x Canada Goose collection.
What does it mean to Union to collaborate with a brand as globally recognized and respected as Canada Goose?
It means a lot. We (Union) are a mom-and-pop small business retailer. We project bigger, which is a blessing, but we are still quite small.
To be able to work with a truly global brand where we get the opportunity to reach further and go bigger than usual is really great for our small business. Also, a lot of our past collaborations are still very streetwear – so being able to diversify and show that we are more than a t-shirt or a sneaker has been really fun!
Do you have any personal experiences with Canada Goose?
Canada Goose has always been an aspirational brand for me to first and foremost own as a garment for myself. The quality and craftsmanship they offer have always been something I have respected and been inspired by, and then to get the chance to work with them on a collaborative project is just out of this world crazy.
As I was saying to them when I was up in Toronto recently, while we were prepping the last bits of our marketing…I am just a kid from Ottawa. All that to say, it’s crazy to me that we got the chance to work together, especially given my own Canadian roots.
A favorite jacket, perhaps?
Easy. Gotta go with an OG: The Expedition Parka. Classic extreme weather bad-boy to keep you toasty through those cold Canadian winters. Not so fun fact. I was born and raised in Ottawa, which is the coldest capital city in the WORLD! Full stop. So, you know I know what it takes to stay warm…
How does the collaboration play into the world of Union?
The narrative we designed to was that of imagining a place where SOCAL laid-back style meets Canadian northern frontier. To execute this, we activated a lot of layering pieces that would work well together when needed for extreme cold but could also be worn as separates in warmer climates.
Beyond that, there was a lot of synergy in our brands' mutual respect for community, craftsmanship, and well, of course, looking fly!
Favorite piece(s) in the collection?
Out of this collection, I oscillate between two styles. At the beginning of the project, the “North Star” piece was the Toussaint Parka. I am a huge “overcoat” guy and I always like to have one in my “quiver”, so it was the first piece I thought of making when we started the project.
That said, the surprise sleeper to me in the collection is the Bullard Bomber. It was a bit of a risky idea to make a hybrid MA-1 Bomber / Varsity Letterman jacket that I wasn’t always sure was going to come out the way we imagined but my head designer at Union, Jamie Benson, was a strong advocate and, in the end, this piece came out truly special.
How has the relationship between Union and Canada Goose evolved?
Good question. I think early on we were (on both sides) feeling each other out, seeing where we could each push and pull and how much we could push the boundaries with this partnership.
By the end, I think we had established a genuine trust and appreciation for each other and an understanding that we were both really striving for the same thing. We both really wanted quality and craftsmanship and just to be able to make the best product in the market.
Where would you like to push it in the future?
I would love to really lean into more extreme weather stuff. We stayed in our SOCAL zone for this, but working with the Canada Goose team really made me appreciate the more heavyweight stuff we could work on.
I would also love to expand on our “bridge-building," getting some of our SOCAL community up to experience and visit Canada and get some of their team down to California.
It was great for me to have been able to go home for a couple of days in Toronto and see some snow...it was also great to see the product being made right there in Toronto right at their factories. I knew the goods were made in Canada, but to see it right there in the middle of the city was pretty dope.
