The Montreal-based brand offers layering options for every coat, making them practical for more than one season of the year

“Brown is the new black.”

So says Marisa Minicucci, design director at Søsken Studios, a Montreal-based brand that specializes in coats. And when a woman like Minicucci makes predictions about where style is going, we’re listening. She’s a 30-year veteran of Canadian fashion, and is known for her timeless, luxurious and eye-catching coats.

“All of the camel and brown you’re seeing for fall … it’s going to continue big time for spring,” said Minicucci in a recent phone interview.

“I never thought I’d see brown back in fashion. But it’s back. It’s mixed differently than it was… You see it with brights and with nudes, and with the new orange tones -- cumin and all those spicy colours.”

We’re delighted to bring some of those new neutrals into Resonance this season with the launch of Søsken in our store. To introduce this new collection, we've started with one of Marissa's best selling pieces, Bev, a light-weight down puffer jacket with special designer touches, and we've chosen layering pieces that could extend the use of the Bev, or can be worn as stand alone designer coats. The Bella lapel coat is a classic favourite, beautiful in its timeless grace, and it pairs perfectly with Bev.

Søsken launched in 2016 with Minicucci at the helm. But she was already well-known in the fashion industry for her coats. She cut her teeth at Irving Samuel, an outerwear brand based in Montreal, then went on to own her own eponymous sportswear brand in the ‘90s. 

Over the years, Minicucci says she’s seen more variety develop in the outerwear category, with more women seeing coats and jackets as an opportunity to make a strong style statement. As well, lifestyles have changed, so clothes have naturally changed, too. 

“People travel more, so you need a variety of things. If you live in Canada, you need certain kinds of coats, but in Paris, you don’t necessarily need the same coat.” 

Søsken’s solution to the multi-climate lives we now live is to offer layers that make it possible to adapt a statement piece to any environment. There’s a thin puffer that makes a great underlayer for cold days, as well as vests that layer over. 

Minicucci acknowledges that her Fall 2019 collection is a celebration of that variety. 

“This fall is the most whimsical season we’ve had. We’ve added prints, something we’ve never done before. Some chevron tweeds, some faux furs. There are lots of layers and textures.”

Just the phrase “chevron prints” gets us excited. And we could tell Minicucci shares our obsession with outerwear that stands out from the crowd. She admitted she struggles to keep her personal collection down to a reasonable size. In fact, Minicucci laughingly revealed that, in her own closet, she finds herself hanging two coats on each hanger, too!

“I say, okay, I’m not bringing anything home! Because how am I going to fit them in? Which ones to I let go of, and which ones do I really wear often enough to keep in my closet?”

There is one thing we know one thing for sure, though. Brown may be a strong trend this season, but black outerwear will never really go out of style.

In our bricks and mortar shop, we're featuring a few versions of the ubiquitous black trend, updated by Marisa using chevrons and plaids, and possibly a fringe or two added for fun.

Check out the whole Søsken collection.