Last April, while many adjusted to life working from home by slipping into sweatsuits, Margherita Porra was taking a different approach.
“I know that clothing is a mood-activator for me, I leaned into that,” says Porra, the creative director and owner of Arithmetic, an award-winning multi-disciplinary design studio located on British Columbia’s Granville Island. “If I try to design in sweatpants, it shows in the work. I sit up straighter in my desk chair, everything is so much more focused, and I’m confident when I’m feeling put together,” she says.
Design label Smythe will be releasing capsule lines with a focus on items that are seasonless and versatile.Supplied
Christie Smythe, one half of the designer duo behind the Toronto-based fashion label Smythe, was also an early adopter of this sartorial strategy. “Past week one, I committed to getting ‘dressed’ every day. Mentally, it serves me to look as put together as I did when I had a physical office to go to,” she says, “I guess it depends on whether you are someone who dresses for yourself or dresses for others. I have learned I am the former.”
Coming up to the one-year mark of when many people retreated to their home offices, much of the fashion industry has shifted to offer collections that reflect our new reality. Recognizing that remote work will continue or morph into a hybrid in and out of the office rhythm, a multifaceted and multifunctional approach is driving the future of work attire. “I don’t want to wear tight clothes,” Porra says. “I want to feel comfortable and free.”
The demand for comfort has been heard by many brands. At Zegna, the Italian heritage label synonymous with tailored fits, there is a collection of relaxed silhouettes for, according to the brand, “a world in which living, lounging and working collide in the same space at the same time.”
Judith & Charles owner Judith Richardson says the label is incorporating more casual looks into its Spring 2021 collection.Supplied
For Judith & Charles, a pre-pandemic go-to for the latest blazers and desk-to-drinks dresses, the focus has been on making pieces more relaxed without completely abandoning the brand’s work wear roots. “We have incorporated many more casual options for Spring 21 into the collection based on the reaction we received for fall,” says Judith Richardson, the brand’s owner and vice-president. Look for double-face jersey separates designed around a system of dressing with four to five styles that are all interchangeable. Richardson doesn’t expect a strong return to more formal work attire until September.
At Smythe, the label will offer a series of edited capsule lines throughout the spring and summer. “Items have to be seasonless and serve multiple functions,” co-founder and designer Andrea Lenczner says. “A great palazzo pant will appear elevated but be as comfortable as a track pant. It will work as well with a sweater and a boot in early spring as it will over a bathing suit with slides on the beach in July.”
As the need to be Zoom-ready from the waist up remains, easy-to-wear professional tops will continue to be a key investment piece. For Montreal-based independent designer Habi Gerba, silk blouses with gentle draping have been some of her Gazelles label’s best sellers. “There are so many good things about silk. It’s breathable, comfortable and it looks chic, but you feel like you’re wearing pajamas,” says Gerba, whose made-in-Canada line caters to businesswomen. “We’re going to see a hybrid version of business attire. It will include a combination of structure and fluidity, such as a blazer with a silk dress underneath,” she says.
Montreal designer Habi Gerba's line Gazelles has had success selling silk blouses with gentle draping.Supplied
To help your closet adapt to this new normal, Lenczner suggests looking past outdated ideas of what professional fashion should be. “Like so many, Christie and I spent much of last year re-evaluating what matters in life, asking what elements bring joy and cleansing those that don’t. Do the same with your wardrobe,” she says. Her creative partner agrees. “Pull forward the things you love. The things that make you feel great. Purge the things that don’t. Then layer in new pieces that make you feel excited and updated,” Smythe says.
You could also take a page from Porra’s book and begin spring shopping with a new pair of shoes. As a shoe lover who starts the process of getting dressed by selecting footwear, Porra has recently acquired simple flats that remind her of a similar Italian-made pair owned by her father. “As a kid, I used to watch him polish his shoes, and he’d tell me how he saved up for them, and that if you care for something it will last forever,” she says. “When I saw the Celine loafers, I thought, ‘I will have these for as long as I possibly can.’ They remind me of smart thinking, care, craftsmanship and sustainability, and that’s something I want to embody when I’m in the business mindset during the day.”