Pricey Italian luxury brand Mr. and Mrs. Italy will open its first Canadian store at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre in December of this year, according to construction signage in the mall. Toronto joins a handful of cities globally to boast having a Mr. and Mrs. Italy store location.
Mr. and Mrs. Italy was founded in 2007 in Milan and is known particularly for its parkas lined with fur detailing. Prices aren’t cheap — parkas are generally priced between about $2,000 and $6,000 each, with some approaching $10,000. The brand also features men’s and women’s ready-to-wear clothing and accessories, including collections of unique and expensive footwear that often features fur accents.
The company initially gained awareness for its army green cotton parkas that are lined with rabbit, fox, beaver and mink. The vintage inspired shells and luxury fur design became a hit with celebrities, propelling the brand. The company says on its website that everything is made in Italy.
(PRICES ON WEBSITE IN US$)
The Yorkdale boutique will be located in half of the 2,930 square foot retail space formerly occupied by Birks (which relocated), across from a soon-to-open Ladurée boutique (Toronto’s first) and next to luxury brand Saint Laurent, as per the floor plan below. The former Birks space had originally been earmarked to become Canada’s first standalone Marc Jacobs store, though that’s since changed.
According to its website, there are only eight standalone Mr. and Mrs. Italy stores in the world, in seven cities. There’s one store location in Milan — its flagship, as well as locations in New York City, Bal Harbour Florida (Bal Harbour Shops), Paris, Shanghai, Beijing, and Hong Kong, which has two stores.
Yorkdale could now be considered to be Canada’s ‘parka central’ — Moose Knuckles opened its very first concept store last week in the mall’s Nordstrom-anchored expansion wing, across from the world’s first Canada Goose retail store that opened last year. Montreal-based Mackage is also located nearby, and Woolrich is about to open its first Canadian store across from Mackage. Moncler and Rudsak are known for their warm jackets as well, and there are plenty of other stores in the mall that carry outerwear including Holt Renfrew, Harry Rosen, Hudson’s Bay, Nordstrom, Sport Chek, Sporting Life, The North Face and others.
*Top Photo: Mr. and Mrs. Italy at Hong Kong’s IFC Mall.
