and the luxury knitwear of Italian Fabiana Filippi .
It ’ s this strong fashion-forward sense and attentive personalized service that continue to draw customers back despite the various location changes and economic downturns over the years .
“ We know what our customers like ,” says Elena , who officially took over the business in 2005 . “ They trust us . We ’ re not going to sell them something that looks terrible . That ’ s why we survived and are still relevant because they trust our opinion . There was this high-profile woman in town who wasn ’ t good at putting outfits together so my mom would coordinate different pieces of clothing by using colour-coded stickers on the tags so that this woman would know which went best with what ,” explains Elena . “ Needless to say , she always looked amazing .”
Not all devoted customers live in town however . In fact , a woman who visited from Toronto four years ago won ’ t shop anywhere else now .
“ She loved the way my mom and I put her into everything ,” explains Elena . “ So at the beginning of every season , she buys from us . She picks her selections online and we send them to her . We ’ ve even done alterations for her without her even trying them on and she ’ s super happy .”
Selecting the right pieces every season is challenging and stressful for any retailer . But this mother and daughter tend to agree 80 per cent of the time on product selection .
“ You can ’ t afford to be off on your buying ,” says Elena . “ Because in this business , if you have one season of bad buying , it ’ s disastrous . I ’ ve seen stores close if their buying is off for a season or two .”
That savvy only comes with keen instinct and decades of experience .
“ I ’ ve been trained by the best ,” says Elena . “[ My mom ] really knows her stuff . She ’ s amazing .”
At 73 , Victoria still works part-time at La Chic . She credits her late husband who introduced her to the industry and taught her everything he knew about cut , fit , and fabrics .
“ I can ’ t retire because I love it ,” laughs Victoria . “ But I think my daughter loves it more than me ! We ’ re a good team .” Clearly , the passion for fashion is in the genes . “ Our love of fashion and our love of this city keeps us going ,” says Elena . “ We ’ re a small city but why shouldn ’ t the women here be as well dressed as the women in New York or Paris ?”
Supreme Men ’ s Wear
If a Rolls Royce could transmogrify into a man ’ s dress shirt , it would be called a Biedermann .
From the shank-wrap lock stitch around the button to the rare fusing of the cuff and collar , the exquisite detail that goes into one luxurious , hand-crafted dress shirt at Supreme Men ’ s Wear stems from the enthusiastic , creative engine of owner Darren Biedermann .
Resembling an energetic rock star , Biedermann has a passion for fashion with the critical eye and precision of an engineer . With 32 years of tailor shop experience under his belt , he has proudly honed his own made-in-Canada designer line of shirts , suits , and jackets .
It ’ s yet another brand that is in keeping with the store ’ s mantra of carrying only the best and unique in the world of men ’ s fashion . That includes the Meyer trousers from Germany and European collections difficult to find in North America such as Digel , and a shirt line called Eterna .
“ We always say , ‘ as usual , the unusual at Supreme ,’” says Biedermann . “ We won ’ t carry what everyone else has . We have stubborn pride . We don ’ t want to be the sheep . We want to be the lion . We ’ ve always been the purveyors of the unique and the unusual .”
That pride and mantra has served Supreme well as they have developed a reputation not only among Calgarians but among discerning buyers around the world . Despite another recession , Biedermann says Supreme has only experienced solid growth in the past four years with no signs of slowing down .
“ We had a client who just got back from Las Vegas tell me that he had three complete strangers ask him where he got his shirt ,” says Biedermann . “ It ’ s that crazy but not surprising as that happens to be our slogan : ‘ brace for compliments .’” Originally established as a custom tailor shop in 1948 , Supreme Tailors became Supreme Men ’ s Wear when Darren ’ s father , Ernest , a master tailor from Germany , bought the business in 1972 . Unlike many others , he managed to avoid bankruptcy and rise above the dire downturn of the ‘ 80s . Of his three sons , Darren always showed avid interest in the shop and officially took over in 1995 . Ernest Biedermann credits hard work , customer loyalty and his son ’ s boundless energy and creativity for sustaining and growing the business .
“ Darren works 16 hour days ,” says Ernest , who is retired but still works on alterations once a week . “ I come in and I look at
“ Calgary is the most awesome place to be because it ’ s young , vibrant , and the younger male is becoming fashionaware ,” says Darren . “ The millennials don ’ t want to dress and look the same as everyone else . They want to express their uniqueness in every way they can .”
— Darren Biedermann
Supreme Men ’ s Wear
PHOTOGRAPHS : ( LEFT TO RIGHT ) COURTESY OSKA ; COURTESY NEAL ’ S YARD REMEDIES
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