Reborn

Readers of this blog probably do not need to be told of Reborn. While we've known about the store for a while now, we're finally adding to the guide by way of a reader suggestion.

To put it one way, just looking at designers on their roster starting with the letter P, (Petar Petrov, Peter Pilotto, Pleasure Principle and Preen) Reborn is already more interesting than most shops we've walked into.

Yes, their lineup is full of designers we know and love, but we were happy to see the Montreal store introduce us to a few promising Canadian labels.

Montreal based Rad Hourani, a former stylist with no formal fashion training presented his first collection in October 2007. While it's easy to see all the black Hourani sends down the runway and compare him to Ann Demuelemeester or Rick Owens or Helmut Lang, hist work has elements of all these designers while looking uniquely its own. It's also no where near as polished or consistent as Demuelemeester's or Owens' work, but give him a few seasons and he could well get there.

On the more casual side of the monochromatic/deconstructed spectrum is Complex Geometries, also of Montreal. Working primarily with cotton, the labels plays with draping to create imminently wearable clothing with a sculptural feel.