Since 2017, the Toronto-based brand Better™ Gift Shop has grown into something of a cultural landmark in the city. Every ‘gift’ in this shop — an object, apparel or art piece — is the product of a meaningful partnership between BGS and a well-vetted collaborator. The original concept behind the brand was “shoppable inspiration,” Avi Gold, Better™ Gift Shop’s creative director says. “I was kind of fixated on gift shops and thought it’d be cool to curate items that give inspiration to what we do. It’s the gift shop for a fictional museum essentially — the museum being in our minds.”
In a sea of endless streetwear collaborations, it’s becoming increasingly rare to see a partnership that feels authentic. Better™ Gift Shop’s inaugural capsule collection with outerwear performance brand Marmot encapsulates the brands’ shared values: community, the outdoors and, evidently, sustainability.
Ahead of the BGS x Marmot capsule collection launching later this week, we spoke exclusively to the Better™ Gift Shop and Marmot creative teams about bringing technology and heritage together, being accidentally sustainable and how the iconic Marmot Mammoth jacket (aka The Biggie) planted the seed for this partnership.
How does Better™ Gift Shop approach a collaboration?
BGS: I would say what we do is more ‘special projects’ at this point. I think the unique aspect is the approach we take. It kind of follows the same sort of loop where we go into the archive, but we’re gonna put our twist on it and keep it close to reference. There’s this design philosophy that I read about recently, and it’s the Apple approach: you know that the project is done and the design is done when you’ve stripped it down. Essentially, we add our twist, flip a couple of colours and somehow the final product ends up being very unique. Like, how do we take what this brand makes really well and repurpose it through our lens? So I think if it’s not broken, why try to fix it?
You’re making it better.
BGS: Exactly. Our approach isn’t innovative, everyone’s been doing it, but it’s [through] our lens. It’s how we grew up. It’s all of that that influences how we approach something. And I think there’s something about growing up in Toronto and seeing the pipeline between what certain Americans were wearing and what we had access to in Canada at the time.
That idea of making a product ‘better’ is fundamentally connected to sustainability because the idea is that, if you have better-made products you wouldn’t need to consume more and more stuff. Was sustainability a big part of the BGS brand ethos?
BGS: I think sustainability and just making meaningful, purposeful products has taken over the way that we currently think. Where before we would’ve been racing to put out tons of product and now, we’ve taken a step back and that’s why we’re not releasing a bunch of things every week. I think it’s just being a bit more mindful and considerate to sustainability as opposed to going full speed with like 20 SKUs every week. The less is more approach is very much at play. And to be honest, we’re accidentally sustainable because Better™ Gift Shop started by reselling vintage and found objects, and a part of our special projects is repurposing, taking an Arcteryx jacket or something else that’s already exists and making it better. Whatever twist we add on to it, we make it better.
Is it hard to maintain that level of integrity in such a consumerist market like streetwear?
BGS: Yeah. I mean, we’re in this crazy over-saturated marketplace right now and the bubble is gonna start bursting. For us, it’s important to lead with purpose. We’re not just gonna collaborate with any random brand or company — we’re pretty selective, [and] we’re happy with what we’re creating. [Putting] crap out in the world doesn’t feel good.
How did this partnership come about?
Marmot: We are oftentimes looking for brands, organisations and creatives to work with to showcase our gear in unique ways. When we met with the team at Better™ Gift Shop, it was an instant connection. The team there knew the ins and outs of our brand and their passion blew us away. We knew we could work together to deliver a great and unique collection, utilising some of our core and fan-favourite products.
Avi, what first drew you to working with Marmot?
BGS: I kind of got super hip to it because of their Mammoth jacket. That’s such an iconic piece of fashion. It’s such a staple and it’s what made me really attracted to their brand. And then once I took the deep dive and saw some of the other items they were making, I like lost my shit. I met the archivist and he showed me some of the stuff they did in the 2000s which was crazy, technology-wise and sustainability-wise. And when you look at this upcoming collection, it’s produced from sustainable products.
What were some of the reference points and inspiration for this capsule?
BGS: It was Canadian Indigo, as in, a Canadian tuxedo, so that’s the blue that we used across the collection. We really wanted to pay homage to our roots and also celebrate the upcoming anniversary of Marmot’s Plasma jacket, which is the main showpiece in this collection.
Marmot: We also leaned into exclusive colour runs, utilising iconic Better Blue and Marmot Solar Yellow, as well as custom prints that tie the two brands together, including a map of Toronto, Canada – BGS’s hometown!
What was the design process like?
BGS: There was a lot of back and forth. Designing outerwear is a whole other beast that I didn’t really know about. I’m so personally thankful for this experience because I got to learn so much and we’re really thankful to have worked with such a great team on this. The Marmot team had the technical expertise on the jackets and our side brought the artistic application, but it was very collaborative. We flew to San Francisco a couple times and there were just a lot of synergies between our teams.
Marmot: Yeah, the design and bringing this collection to life was a collaborative experience through and through. We challenged ourselves to figure out how we can best showcase Marmot’s history of innovation and style in a modern way that also felt authentic to Better™ Gift Shop.
What goal do you want to achieve with this collection?
Marmot: We wanted to bring our technology and heritage to a new audience and become part of more people’s outdoor adventures, globally. It was also great to tap into Better’s community and we were thrilled to work with the photographer Peter Sutherland. He brought an entirely new approach when shooting the collection.
BGS: We just wanted it to resonate with the right people. Sure, we’re capable of making outwear, but it’s not gonna be as good as if we make it with someone like Marmot.
Credits
Photography Peter Sutherland
Images courtesy of Better™ Gift Shop