Aritzia is surrounded by so many wonderful stores at hudson yards from high end brands like Dior, Fendi, and Coach to ready to wear brands like Zara, Levi’s, and Madewell. However, Aritzia’s unique combination of athleisure to business is what sets them apart. We were able to hear first hand how Aritzia treats their employees and a little more about the brands from a previous student of our professor.
Aritzia is a Canadian company whose design offices are currently located in Canada. The store is a high end boutique that caters towards customers that shop at high end brands for specific pieces but need a different store to fill in the rest of their day-to-day closet. Currently the store’s best selling item is a pair of pants that has gone viral on TikTok. They are marketed as “vegan leather” which unfortunantly just means plastic. It was interesting to see the branding and how powerful it is to market them under a more friendly eco/ethical option. A few weeks ago we went Fox Unlimited (in the Fur Industry), and discussed how damaging that can be vs real leather that was made ethically and as eco friendly as it can be.
Ultimately, was really great though to hear how much the company values its employees who during COVID were all on paid leave, even if they had just started to work there. They also are looking into more sustainability and size inclusivity so it will be interesting to see how the brand develops in the future!