Kit and Ace is a Canadian clothing brand founded in 2014 by Shannon Wilson, former lead designer of

Lululemon Athletica Lululemon, commonly styled as lululemon ( ; all lowercase), is a Canadian-American multinational athletic apparel retailer headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, and incorporated in Delaware, United States, as Lululemon Athletica Inc. ...

, and her stepson J. J. Wilson, to sell machine-washable

cashmere wool Cashmere wool, usually simply known as cashmere, is a fiber obtained from cashmere goats, Changthangi, pashmina goats, and some other breeds of goat. It has been used to make yarn, textiles and clothing for hundreds of years. Cashmere is closely ...

clothing and accessories. It is currently owned by Unity Brands Inc.

History

The first store opened in July 2014 in Vancouver's Gastown neighbourhood. In 2015, the brand opened retail stores in the US, the UK and Australia. In September 2015, the company installed shop-in-shop cafes from

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

-based Sorry Coffee Co. in its London and Toronto stores. In April 2017, Kit and Ace closed all its international stores, focusing on

e-commerce E-commerce (electronic commerce) refers to commercial activities including the electronic buying or selling products and services which are conducted on online platforms or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile co ...

and its eight Canadian shops. Hold It All Inc., a Vancouver-based company, owned the brand until the end of August 2018. In 2018, CEO George Tsogas acquired it from the company's founders and changed the brand direction creating apparel that is Smart, Easy to Love, and Made to Last on a mission to Amplify Optimism in the world. In 2018, the Navigator pant was selected as part of the "Ultimate Travel Gear" of 2018 by

Air Canada Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada, by size and passengers carried. Air Canada is headquartered in the borough of Saint-Laurent in the city of Montreal. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and cha ...

's ''enRoute '' Magazine. In November 2019, Kit and Ace opens its first West Vancouver location in The Village, Park Royal. In December 2020, Kit and Ace returns to Edmonton opening a new location on Whyte Ave. In June 2022, Kit and Ace opened a new location on Queen Street in Toronto. In July 2023, Kit and Ace was acquired by Unity Brands Inc. under the ownership of veteran retail executives Joe Mimran, David Lui and Frank Rocchetti.

References

External links

Official website
Clothing brands of Canada Clothing companies of Canada Retail companies established in 2014 2014 establishments in British Columbia Companies based in Vancouver {{Fashion-stub