Toronto-based company, Kollar Clothing, sends a clear message to everyone: stand out and be true to yourself. “Kollar clothing is ready to wear avantstreet clothing: bring traditional streetwear tendencies to high-end refined/timeless clothing” reads the eponymous website. The customers know who they are or who they want to be, and their clothing is an extension of that vision.
Born in 2011, David Kollar (founder) went out to fill the void in the Canadian men’s fashion industry; “we were born out of the want to make clothes for those that think differently, regardless of industry; whether it be in fashion, music, art, film, etc. We salute the people that aren’t satisfied with “normal”, that want to challenge the status quo & be different”. As oppose to high-end designer brands and fast fashion stores, Kollar is set apart from their competitors because of their exceptional quality at an affordable price. However, by 2016 it was difficult to distinguish between Kollar Clothing and their competitors because of being stuck with the trend of the past. It isn’t until 2017 that Joshua Emmanuel interned and shifted the vision of the brand.
Joshua Emmanuel, current George Brown student, is one of the designers of Kollar Clothing that has helped change the path and made the brand bigger than ever. I had met Josh in the halls, before his current job, and we had immediately clicked. Simply from one conversation, it became obvious that he had goals that many people, including myself, could not even fathom the idea.
Josh began his internship at Kollar in late 2017, working as an assistant. It was not until the beginning of 2018 where he began to put in hard work and perseverance into creating mock-ups and designs of clothing and shoes, in which he ensured every little detail was perfect to a T. “If it weren’t for my hard work that I spent hours on end, I wouldn’t end up where I am right now,” says Josh. And it shows. Going from production factories to making technical designs in and out of work, Josh sets out to achieve his end goal.
As a student and designer, Josh talks about the difficulty of balancing the two. “The key of balancing school and work is setting a primary focus,” he says. “I can’t do both at the same time or else I burn myself out. Multitasking is just a way of saying I can do multiple things at the same time with mediocre end results. But in the end, it’ll all payoff”. However, on the other side of the coin, “the opportunities I get from working with Kollar is crazy! Collaborating with tattoo parlors and getting sponsored by companies at concerts and clubs is something I never thought would happen. But it all comes with sacrifices and prices.”
“Every member of our team wasn’t satisfied with the traditional norms of success & decided to pave our own path, and so we want to be the brand that you think of to keep you looking your best while you pave yours”. This statement from their website struck a chord to me; it is this that makes Josh and Kollar work so cohesively yet effortlessly. Although the brand had troubles with keeping in with trends, Josh and Kollar Clothing had the common vision of non-conformity when it comes to fashion. The blend of avant-garde and streetwear is a common trend now, but Josh has helped the brand reinterpret the Canadian men’s fashion trend. The ugly of disproportionate, oversized, draping clothing and the beauty of complementary styling makes the entire collection flexible and cohesive. Josh pushes the envelope further by experimenting with different textures, fabrics, patterns, and technical designs that really makes Kollar stand out from their competitors. In their latest collection (Spring/Summer 2019), male and female models walk down the runway in men’s clothing. The message was clear: this is meant to be worn by anyone and everyone, challenging the gender norms. The collections they deliver clearly set a vision that all members of the team see in the same eye.
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