Featuring a signature wide collar, ribbed sleeves and refined modern tailoring in silky soft alpaca, this long wrap coat exudes elegance and simplicity. Canadian local luxury fashion brand Sentaler was founded in 2009. Its coats are made of cruelty-free sustainable materials and are known for keeping warm and stylish. In just over ten years, Sentaler has jumped from a low-key luxury brand to the international stage. Whether it is Sophie Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada, or Kate Middleton and Meghan, the Duchess of the United Kingdom, it can be seen in the bodies of Sentaler, allowing the world to glimpse this fashion treasure from Canada.
Sentaler started out with womenswear, following the DNA of emphasizing exquisite craftsmanship and pursuing excellent quality. In recent years, the brand has expanded its coat series to menswear to meet the growing market demand, and also intends to gradually expand the growth of the international market. In this issue of "Supreme", Bojana Sentaler, the founder and creative director of the brand, has an in-depth understanding of the creation process of the brand, discusses the success of entering the international market as a local brand, and analyzes the development trend of the luxury fashion industry. With the dual identities of female entrepreneurs and immigrants, Sentaler will also share the joys and sorrows with us, and encourage us to have the courage to pursue dreams that seem out of reach.
Inspired by fashion
Sentaler, who loved fashion since she was a child, has a creative side, and is also interested in the digital and business world, so she chose to study at Schulich School of Business in college. Since then, her fashion design path has been more tortuous than others. After graduating from university, Sentaler worked for a well-known beauty brand. She always had big and small ideas about the company, and felt that her ability was limited by the company's structure, so she resolutely decided to resign.
She moved to Dubai in 2008 to write a report on economic investment in emerging markets for a newspaper. The fashion legend "Karl Lagerfeld" happened to be designing luxury villas there. Sentaler had the opportunity to interview him due to work. After the interview, she expressed to "Lafayette" that she has always wanted to become a fashion designer, but she has never received relevant formal training. He told her bluntly, "You either have it or you don't. If you have it, go for it." Years later, Sentaler realized that it was a once-in-a-lifetime encounter. The words of "Lafayette" quietly planted a seed in her heart, inspiring her to build her own fashion business.
In 2008, the global economy was in turmoil, and Dubai was not alone. So Sentaler traveled to South America and traveled to Lima, Peru for half a year, during which time he discovered rare alpaca fibers. It has tiny pores that act like a natural insulator, keeping you warm while being light. Sentaler said excitedly, "This is my dream fabric! I think of Canada, the country I moved to when I was eight years old. After the long winters, with eight months of ice and snow every year, I understand the importance of having a warm and comfortable coat. However, I was not willing to compromise on fashion, so I created my first coat collection in alpaca fabric, combining beauty and function, and brought it back to Canada."
In 2009, although the shadow of the economic recession still loomed over Canada, it did not shake her determination to found Sentaler. She said frankly that many people may question her decision, "But I firmly believe that the luxury market can stand out in the economic recession, the premise is that the product needs to target the right target customers and prove to people that your brand has unique value. I spent a whole year preparing to ensure that the coat is perfect before it is launched on the market, because I only have one chance to sell it to customers."
Balance family and career
When Princess Kate visited Canada in 2016, she made a surprise appearance wearing a short gray Sentaler coat, which immediately made the brand highly sought after by fashion lovers all over the world. Recalling the upsurge at that time, Sentaler said, "Many people follow the fashion sense of the royal family members. It is a great honor that Kate chose us among the many local brands. Her move has greatly enhanced our international reputation, not only in North America, but across continents and oceans, allowing us to shine in Europe, Asia, and even in any corner of the world." This autumn, Sentaler will announce more exciting news, especially plans for the Hong Kong and Chinese markets.
The secret behind Sentaler's success lies in her design inspiration. She often creates on the road, whether it is the buildings on both sides of the road or the clothes of passers-by, everything can be her source of inspiration. She is good at injecting the colors she has seen and the pulse of the cities she has felt during her journey into her designs. The autumn and winter series "Around the World" launched by the brand last year was derived from the five major fashion capitals. "I really want to portray every woman who wears a Sentaler coat as if she was born in a major fashion capital of the world, and has the ultimate pursuit of luxury and high quality. I hope that after wearing the coat, they will feel extra beautiful and empowered to create more beautiful things in life," Sentaler said.
As the status of the sexes becomes more equal, the number of women serving as corporate executives or entrepreneurs has increased in recent years. As a female entrepreneur, Sentaler said that in today's generation, women no longer have to choose between family and career. They can become mothers and own their own business at the same time, and complete all life tasks. She shared with us, "I have never left my two children. When I work at home, they often participate in my work meetings together. The most impressive thing is that when Kate wore Sentaler to visit Canada, all the media rushed to interview me, but I had just given birth to a son. At that time, I did not hesitate to accept the interview. During the interview, a two-day-old baby was crying on my shoulder. I quickly smiled and said sorry to the reporter." Women are learning to seize this opportunity.
Immigrant power beyond imagination
The luxury fashion industry has undergone constant changes in recent years, and luxury brands are going through a phase of "rebranding" to meet the needs and expectations of the "millennial generation". Fast fashion culture is prevalent in the current generation. In the past few years, social media has encouraged people to catch up with trends, as if everyone needs to wear the latest and most popular clothes, gradually forming a trend of excessive consumption.
Sentaler said bluntly: "One of the biggest problems in the fashion industry at present is overproduction. I hope that re-wearing clothes can become a trend again, so that people think that wearing repeated clothes is also a fashion expression, and while showing fashion self, we can do our part to protect the environment." She believes that more and more people are beginning to pay attention to sustainable development, and the fashion industry is moving in a better direction. As for the entire industry to understand the impact of excessive consumption on the environment, there is still a long way to go. She predicts that one of the future development trends of the fashion industry will be reflected in the production level, such as dyeing fabrics with natural dyes, or even the colors extracted from natural dyes to lead the trend.
Canada, as a popular immigrant country, attracts people of different races and countries from all over the world to come and settle here, reflecting a kaleidoscope of multiculturalism. Sentaler was born in Belgrade, Serbia, and immigrated to Canada with her family at the age of eight. She believes that immigrants have more power than imagined. “We come from different cultural backgrounds, and we are often able to come up with ideas that are new to Canada, or bring things from our hometown that have not been seen in Canada. This makes us unique. As immigrants, we not only integrate into the culture of the local society, but also add extra value to this country, and really play our best,” she said.
It is true that it takes a lot of courage to leave the comfort zone of the past and live in a strange country. We don't need to underestimate ourselves and regard the status of immigrants as a disadvantage. From another perspective, the past experiences will bring us unique advantages and become a pair of wings for us to pursue our dreams.
