At Body of Work’s new store in Toronto, a curved wall wraps around the room, guiding the eye toward a central fireplace, where a clothing rack suspended from the ceiling mirrors the wall’s arc.Body of Work/Supplied
Clothing brand Body of Work is bringing luxury to Canadian-made sportswear with a curated line of essentials – and a new brick-and-mortar store in Toronto’s Summerhill neighbourhood.
The brand’s minimalist designs – fine rib jersey tanks, T-shirts, cardigans and leggings – have garnered a following that appreciates the blend of comfort and functionality.
Brittney MacKinnon and Dwayne Vatcher, who founded the label in 2020, say they draw inspiration from movement and nature. They choose natural materials over synthetics whenever possible, sourcing from family owned mills and factories just outside of Toronto and in Japan.
Body of Work co-founders Dwayne Vatcher and Brittney MacKinnon. Excited is an understatement for how the design duo feels as they step into their first retail venture.Body of Work/Supplied
The pair are partners in life and business. They met as university students in Toronto and later moved to Vancouver to pursue careers in fashion (MacKinnon worked at Aritzia, Vatcher at Reigning Champ) before returning to Ontario to self-fund the launch of Body of Work.
Over the past decade, they’ve been driven by a shared vision to create the kind of Canadian brand they once aspired to join: a sportswear label with strong values and top quality garments for everyday life. Performance and technical features are a focus, but that doesn’t mean they’re willing to sacrifice style. Aesthetics remain a priority.
To start, they sold Body of Work through other retailers and at pop-up shops. But when a commercial space at the edge of Toronto’s midtown Ramsden Park became available, MacKinnon and Vatcher were ready to strike.
“We’ve taken Body of Work to places like New York and Japan for pop-ups – those were some of the first markets to embrace us – but the goal has always been to bring that energy back home,” MacKinnon said.
All of the brand’s clothing is made from cotton and linen, with the exception of a bit of Lyrca in the pants and leggings.Fahim Kassam/Supplied
When it came to renovating the 100-year-old space, the couple tapped architecture studio Superkül, an award-winning Toronto firm known for its minimalist designs and commitment to sustainable building practices. The result is a hybrid studio-storefront, divided by a semi-opaque curtain that offers a peek into the brand’s inner-workings.
“The space is a strong reflection of the values we’ve instilled in the brand,” MacKinnon said. “Having lived between Toronto and Vancouver, we wanted to bring nature in because it’s so much a part of our lives. Activity is at the core of the way we design our clothes and why we design our clothes.”
A curved wall wraps around the room, guiding the eye toward a central fireplace, where a clothing rack suspended from the ceiling mirrors the wall’s arc. It’s a subtle effect that gives the interior a sense of flow.
Having more physical space meant more room to grow, so the designers expanded their spring/summer 2026 collection.
“More woven pieces are coming – variations of new styles, new fabric development, new washes and brushing techniques,” MacKinnon said.
Performance and technical features are a focus of Body of Work’s design philosophy, but that doesn’t mean they’re willing to sacrifice style.Fahim Kassam/Supplied
All of the brand’s clothing is made from cotton and linen, with the exception of a bit of Lyrca in the pants and leggings.
“We’re trying to create something more unique and more special. We only work with natural fibres, so you have to challenge yourself,” MacKinnon said. “You have a lot more room to play with when working with synthetics, but we really like the idea of pushing the limits of what natural fibres can offer.”
The brand is at work on its first women’s footwear project, a partnership with Japan’s Moonstar slated to come out later this year. A new men’s release from their collaboration with French footwear brand Mephisto is also expected in the next few months.
Excited is an understatement for how the design duo feels as they step into their first retail venture.
“Our goal is that this is just the beginning,” MacKinnon said. “We have plans to open up in other countries in the future. I think we’ve got some growth to do before then, but for now, this is the testing space for all of our ideas.”
