When SMYTHE began in 2004, founders Andrea Lenczner and Christie Smythe had a simple goal – making the perfect women’s blazer.
“At the time, women’s blazers weren’t a category; you could buy a suit, but you couldn’t buy what men have, just a casual sports jacket,” Lenczner says. “We saw that gap in the market, and that’s how we started.”
Lenczner says she and Smythe had been friends for years since high school, both pursuing separate careers in the fashion world – though not at first for Lenczner.
“My parents were not about fashion growing up; they did not believe in spending a lot of money on clothing or aesthetics. They believed in education, which benefited me obviously,” she says. “I think I rebelled because they weren’t interested, so I became so interested. But I never thought I could make it a career, so I went into business.”
But she realized shortly into her career in banking that, if she’s going to spend long hours on something, she should like what she does, or else it won’t be sustainable. “So I took a massive salary cut, went from banking into buying at Holt Renfrew, and I was happy and interested and fulfilled,” Lenczner says.
Smythe made the move back to Canada from various pursuits in New York and Europe around the same time Lenczner had her first child. They reunited, and SMYTHE was born.
While the brand started with just the blazer design, it expanded with the influence of both high fashion and street fashion, according to Lenczner. “We were inspired by our friends and women who we thought had original style. A lot of how we design to is thinking, ‘What are you wearing to a concert? What do you wear to dinner with your girlfriends? What are you wearing to an interview?” she says. “As women, we need things for all these different areas, and we’re trying to design for all these things.”
In SMYTHE’s most recent collections, available at their flagship store, that influence is clear – designs include a statement bright blue peacoat with puffed sleeves, striking flower print trousers and timeless staples from their SMYTHEHOUSE collection that features SMYTHE silhouettes redone in “seasonless” fabrics and colours.
As for the shop itself, located in Summerhill at 1116 Yonge St., Lenczner the location was an easy decision. “Christie and I both live nearby, and I think that’s how we started our business – just do what you know. It seemed less risky to be in an area that we understand,” she says.
In tribute to that philosophy, everything in the build of the store is locally-made, excluding the floors. That includes the local interior designers behind the space, Ashley Botten and Tom Smythe (Christie Smythe’s brother). “We have so much raw talent here, you don’t need to look beyond,” Lenczner says. “The way Tommy and Ashley work, they’re the most beautiful, skilled people in our city that work within the design business.”
You can visit the new location at 1116 Yonge St. from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Tuesday to Saturday and 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday,