On the Rise: Champlain Apparel Is Bringing Preppy Back

Jonathan Richard sold his stake in a Yaletown custom suit business in 2022 after seeing a change in the market. “The corporate business world was shifting quite a bit,” he says, noting that the rise of remote work through COVID had taken its toll on traditional dress codes. So he started making polo shirts and selling them online. “Why don’t we go back to the classics? Polos, cardigans, varsity jackets—and put a casual-chic twist on it?”

The result is Champlain Apparel, which offers modern menswear for both professional and social settings. Richard started polishing his product, working with manufacturers and raising capital. Through that he met Cameron Conn, a former corporate executive who was in the process of selling his tech startup to Vancouver cybersecurity firm GeoComply. “In the tech sector, if you come in with a sport coat everyone in the company is like, ‘Are we getting fired? What’s happening?’” says Conn. “My options were limited—am I going to go to Brooks Brothers? As someone who loves fashion, it was disappointing that it was that or very fashion-forward, heavily branded stuff that didn’t fit the setting, or athleisure. When I saw what Jonathan was doing, I saw the versatility of it. There was no modern take on that middle ground.”

Conn became one of Richard’s initial investors and, in June of last year, the CEO of Champlain. The company has launched its product (which features both fall/winter and spring/summer collections) in five provinces and 32 states in the U.S. “We’re not trying to be athleisure wear that you could maybe wear to work,” says Conn in the company’s Gastown showroom. “It’s about fitting into a proper aesthetic that you can wear throughout your day—bringing back pieces to what they were designed for. A polo shirt was a very prep, proper look. We’ve forgotten how to dress it up again. Let’s show how these items are classic and timeless. There’s nothing in this room that hasn’t been cool in some variation for 60 years.”

Customers can find button-up shirts, cardigans, varsity jackets and polos for a range of $115 to $230 on the company’s website. “The clothes speak for themselves,” says Conn.

EDITORS’ PICK

The soft, ribbed cotton button-down polo ($160) hits the sweet spot between dressed-up and casual, and is just as well suited for the office as it would be for a  weekend beer crawl.