Like Mother Like Daughter

Behind Vancouver’s Blubird boutique, with multiple locations and a loyal fashionista following, are two incredible women who just happen to share the closest possible family bond. We recently chatted with Vestis Fashion Group’s Catherine Guadagnuolo and her daughter, Harriet Guadagnuolo—the brains (and, we must say, beauties) behind one of our all-time favourite local shops to get the inside scoop on all things Bluird, past, present and future. —Noa Nichol

the past. In 1981, during a visit to Italy, Catherine fell in love with the fashion scene in that country. In fact, she was so impressed, she signed up for pattern-making and sewing lessons there (which proved to be a good way, too, to learn Italian). The entire experience, she says, made her realize that someone needed to bring Italian-made garments to Vancouver and, in 1985, she opened Boboli with the aim of doing just that.

"I had this very strong desire to bring classic, European fashion to the West Coast, to appeal to women, like me, who were looking for quality and longevity—in other words, the opposite of fast fashion," Catherine says. "These are clothes that are made to endure, both in terms of wear and in weathering the trends, and one of the first brands I looked at to help me do that was Max Mara, which makes beautiful, quality clothing, often with a twist, for a reasonable price."

As the years went by and her client base grew, Catherine stocked more and more Max Mara in her shop—to the point that the brand gave her the highly coveted nod to open a dedicated boutique in Vancouver. Eventually, the fashion-retail maven was running three Max Mara stores in the city: on South Granville, in Pacific Centre and in Oakridge Centre. Weekend Max Mara followed, offering a more casual but still luxe line to shoppers in Pacific Centre, Oakridge Centre and Metropolois at Metrotown. But something was still missing.

"Parents—mothers and fathers—would come in and ask us, ‘Where should we shop for similarly fashionable, top-quality clothes for our kids and teens?’" she says. "This was happening so often that we started thinking, ‘OK, we should open a store to fill this niche.’ Something between Betsey Johnson and Juicy Couture, at an ‘elevated contemporary’ rather than a luxury price point. That’s really how Blubird was born."

the present. Scouring the world for the latest trends and stocking brands like Red Valentino, Canada Goose, Zimmermann, Frame Denim, Moose Knuckles and many, many more, Blubird has grown to become a fashion destination for women in their teens, 20s, 30s, 40s and beyond. The focus in both locations (Alberni Street and Oakridge Centre) is on providing exceptional customer service and garments that are trendy yet elevated, on up-and-coming designers who are launching trends before fast-fashion retailers pick up on and replicate them, and on giving these looks a uniquely "Vancouver" twist.

"We’re dedicated, through Blubird, to offering staple pieces to suit the local lifestyle but presenting them as complete looks blended with really trendy pieces," Catherine explains. "In Vancouver, what we’ve found and know through our long-term and close relationships with our customers is that women often want an element of casual mixed in with their really fashionable and still very feminine pieces, so we combine those two worlds—and that’s where a lot of what Harriet does for us comes in."

As director of product development, Harriet, who formerly spent time interning and working as an analyst at a major cosmetics group in the U.S., dedicates much of her time to scrutinizing pop-culture trends and trying (with an uncanny level of accuracy) to pinpoint the next biggest thing before it’s landed. To this end, she does a lot of travelling—to New York, Milan and other parts of Europe—to check out those fashion scenes and, often spontaneously, bring new stock to store.

"We have a lot of flexibility with Blubird, and this allows us to be really ‘spur of the moment’ when it comes to what we put on the racks and in our windows," Harriet explains. "Our goal, my personal goal, is to make the experience for customers a magical one, where they walk in and feel really inspired and empowered to make great fashion choices that perfectly suit their sense of style and their life."

the future. Next up in Blubird’s ongoing evolution? A move to a brand-new (and what promises to be a spectacular) location on Alberni, across the street from Burberry on Vancouver’s luxury fashion row, next month. Says Catherine, "It’s been 10 years since we opened our last store, and it’s really nice to see an independent retailer like ourselves situated—and, indeed, holding its own—among these very high-end global luxury brands."

While she admits that "it’s a lot of work creating a multi-brand boutique that’s not just a ‘mom and pop’ business," the help of her hard-working and talented daughter (and the rest of the Vestis team) makes it an exciting endeavour.

"Opening the new store in June marks a shift from where we were to where we are and where we’re going, so you’ll see, besides the new location, a new logo and a few other changes that are going to give a facelift to our brand,” Catherine says, adding, “We’ll still be Blubird, though, still really luxurious but really approachable, still carrying elevated clothing for women without breaking the bank, and still offering the very best in service.”

Looking at her talented, hard-working daughter, she’s confident that the future of fashion retail in Vancouver is in great hands: "It’s fun to see another generation be so enthusiastic and successful in this business; I’m so very proud of her and all she has and will accomplish."

“Everything I’ve learned has basically been from watching my mom from a very young age—the most important thing being that, for us, beyond the beautiful clothes, the greatest joy and privilege in operating these stores is in being able to welcome people into what is esentially our home on a daily basis," Harriet responds. "It’s something that trickles right down to the fact that we are, at our core, still very much a family business, with myself and my mom and every member of our staff doing what we love and what we do best, and supporting each other and our customers in a very collaborative way.”

blubird.ca