How Canada Goose Climbed to the Peak of Winter Gear

Shorter days and colder temperatures mean it's time to reach for your trusty winter coat. Perhaps more than any other piece of outerwear, a winter coat has a tough job: keeping you warm in even the harshest conditions, but also looking stylish enough that you don't mind putting it on every time you walk outside.

One brand stands apart as the holy grail of winter wear: Canada Goose jacket. Originally founded in the 1950s as Metro Sportswear Ltd in Toronto, the brand specialized in wool outerwear, raincoats, and snowmobile suits. The company's breakthrough came in the 1970s with their invention of the volume-based down filling machine and the start of a new brand, which was then called Snow Goose. Their customers were mostly wholesale accounts and organizations whose members spent long days exposed to the unforgiving weather of Canadian winters, such as local police departments, the Canadian Rangers, and government environmental agencies.