Outclass x 10: Celebrating Ten Years

This fall marks 10 years of Outclass. Due to the circumstances of 2020, a big celebration was unfortunately out of the question. Instead, a retrospective installation was created in-store to give supporters a chance to revisit the history of the brand. Outclass started with an idea: to create a timeless, quality-driven lifestyle brand manufactured in Toronto.

Outclass Retrospective Installation. 

Matteo, Outclass founder and designer, started his journey in his thesis year at OCADU (Ontario College Of Art & Design) in the Graphic Design program. Matteo spent his final year building the brand from the ground up, starting with market research, inspiration and brand identity development.

Early stages of brand identity development and final logo - 2010.

Throughout the process, Matteo became increasingly interested in clothing design and decided to expand the graphic design project to include a full collection of garments. Matteo met local designer Dean Hutchinson, who mentored and taught Matteo the basics of building a garment from scratch. By the end of the year, Matteo had created his first sample collection for Autumn/Winter 2010.

Outclass Autumn/Winter 2010 look book campaign. 

Upon graduating, Matteo continued to develop the brand, building a website and producing a few accessories from the Autumn/Winter 2010 collection. In an attempt to build relationships with key retailers in Toronto, Matteo hit the streets and started knocking on doors of boutiques. Being a young outsider with no previous experience in the fashion industry, it was an uphill battle. Thanks to a few open-minded shop owners, Outclass was able to secure its first few retail doors in the fall of 2010, followed by a pop-up shop on Queen Street West. Soon after, Matteo and life partner Rebecca took Outclass full time and the rest is history!

Pop-up shop at 416 Snack Bar -2011.

Throughout the years, Outclass continued to build a foundation with key retail partnerships, countless pop-up shops and finally through a flagship store in Toronto. To commemorate this milestone, new labels were used for the Autumn/Winter 2020 collection, using the original crest motif logo from 2010, and outerwear and knitwear feature a limited edition “Ten Years” woven label.

New labels for the Autumn/Winter 2020 collection.

From now until the end of the month a retrospective installation will be on display at the Flagship store highlighting the brand process (from Matteo’s original thesis project) as well as a selection of Outclass samples from the earlier years. Visit the installation at 343 Roncesvalles, Toronto. Mention the code OUTCLASS10 for 10% off of your purchase.