There’s a little part in my heart that always has a soft spot for Canadian brands – whether small or large, Canadian collections will always get my vote. Indeed, I am probably extremely bias. I will admit that I don’t always love how conservative and “blah” some Canadian fashion can be. Despite this, I think it’s great that there is still so much passion and fire behind our humble fashion community. What I admire even more is that we’re fervent about keeping Canadian pride behind a lot of the collections we produce (re: Rudsak, Roots, etc.)
Normally, I don’t pay too much attention to brand campaigns beyond the initial “this is cool” or “that’s different”; but Le Chateau’s recent F/W 2015 campaign definitely caught my eye because of its Canadian Pride.
Le Chateau’s F/W 2015 campaign is centred around a series of images that is inspired by one of the most unique (and one of my favourite) cities in Canada – Montréal (and coming from Torontonian, that says a lot 
). Montréal is probably the one city in Canada where people actually celebrate their bilingualism. They embrace the sort of siamese culture (both French and English) that Canada boasts about.
I absolutely love that Le Chateau has reached back to its Canadian roots to celebrate their campaign – an ode to where they began and the inspiration behind their heritage. They note the celebration of life, art, creativity, and diversity – several things of which Canada prides itself on. I wouldn’t say we are the most “artistically” or “historically” profound nation in the world, but celebrating what we do have and who we are, I feel, is even more important.
The images are bold and definitely Canadian – they’re warm, inviting, approachable, fun, and vibrant (many of the characteristics that I would use to describe Canadians). In sum, I feel the need to highlight that by moving backwards in their heritage, I feel like they’re moving forward. Instead of trying too hard to mould to the current “media hungry” campaign ploys, Le Chateau is giving back to the people that gave them their start – Canada.
I actually got a chance to visit a Le Chateau store and check out some of the pieces that were shown in the campaign. I’ll say that although it’s Le Chateau’s collections aren’t always align with my personal style, I did love some pieces. The window pane collection was probably my favourite because I’m super into geometric prints and clean, minimalistic lines right now. The only thing… is it just me or am I not even really wanting to think about my fall wardrobe yet 
Do you like patriotic campaigns? Do you find them inspiring/isolating?
