How it all started - Part 3

By 2016, Outclass was steadily growing. We had started attending industry tradeshows in New York and Las Vegas to build our wholesale network, while hosting pop-up shops around Toronto to connect with customers face to face. We even showcased for the first time at Toronto Fashion Week, which was a milestone we’d dreamt about since launching the brand.

Then came our big break: a purchase order from a major Canadian department store. It was the kind of opportunity we’d been working toward for years, but it also came with a lot of stress. At the time, we were still working out of our 500 square foot apartment and storing stock in Matteo’s parents’ basement. With production ramping up, it was time for a real workspace.

We also knew we wanted a retail storefront. Pop-ups had been great for meeting people, but we were ready for something permanent. Still, we needed to play it safe. We found a small space on College Street, just west of Dufferin. It was like a time capsule that hadn’t been touched in 25 years. Green ceramic tiles, pink and yellow walls, and a tangle of DIY electrical work. It was perfect.

We dove in headfirst and started pulling late nights. We called in favours from friends and family in who were in the trades, had experience with carpentry, or anyone who was willing to get their hands dirty. By the end of the summer, we were ready to open.

The day before the opening party, delirious from exhaustion and scrambling to finish, nature had other plans. One of the city’s worst downpours hit, and our basement flooded. 

Thankfully, our inventory was elevated off the ground and undamaged by the flood, but our newly drywalled and freshly painted basement didn’t fare so well. That night, instead of sweeping floors and locking up, we were hauling buckets of water out the back alley.

When the doors opened the next day, we were running on adrenaline. The shock of the night before was still written on our faces, but so was the pride of seeing months of work come to life.

The flood was just the first of many unexpected challenges we’d face in opening a retail store, but it gave us our first real taste of building a home base for Outclass. And once we’d had that, there was no turning back.