In case you haven’t traveled to Vancouver recently, know this: the city has come into its own not just as the tech hub of the moment but also as a hothouse of great design. A case in point: Prospekt Supply, whose signature windbreaker, launched a little over a year ago, still somehow seems to look like the freshest thing in your wardrobe while actually serving as that indispensable year-round layer. Indeed, if Canadians know how to do something well, it’s outerwear. In the case of Prospekt Supply, founder and creative director Andrew Joseph succeeds not only in making perfectly constructed jackets, but also capturing Vancouver’s modern, active and luxe sensibilities in equal measure (local peers including Lululemon, Wings + Horns and Arc’teryx have often tilted towards a singular aesthetic or feeling.)
“Alpine sports always influence the way I see silhouettes, so I wanted longer tails and longer sleeves because that’s how it always was growing up snowboarding. And I wanted the hood to be just right so that when you turned your head around, the hood would turn with you rather than being so big that your head just turned into it,” says Joseph of the initial idea of unlocking a garment’s potential and that of its user. To that end, Prospekt Supply went all out for its now-famous windbreaker—its Japanese water-resistant shell, breathable soft American nylon lining, zipper garages constructed from Italian lambskin, stoppers handcut from the US, and waxed drawstrings out of Japan are to die for. The silhouette too is less boxy than most, with a tail ideal for biking and hopping out of cabs, explains Joseph.
Manufacturing domestically and now based out of New York, the brand is expanding its lifestyle offerings and upping the ante with Italian water-resistant fabrics. In response to many requests, it’s also introducing a super sleek matte version of the windbreaker with a matte zipper and elbow patches in lambskin. The company too is debuting tailored casual track pants and shorts in pinstripe and mixed-fabric panel options with ankle zips and luxe lambskin trims (note to the more fashion-forward shopper, the full collection dropping at Opening Ceremony in mid-February will also include a limited edition of the track short in red.) As for other plans? Says Joseph, “I usually don’t try and predict the future. But I do know that we never want to stop challenging ourselves or limiting ourselves. When people ask what the goal is for me, I often say to make clothes my friends will wear.” Well, Prospekt Supply, you’ve got a few in us.
