How Vancouver’s Neighbour became Canada’s leading menswear retailer | Canada Voices

When Saager Dilawri opened Neighbour, a boutique menswear store, in 2011, he gave himself a deadline: “I’ll sign a five-year lease. I’m 26. If it doesn’t work out at 31, then I haven’t wasted that much time.”

The original shop, tucked off Water Street in Vancouver’s historic Gastown, was sparse. It stocked no more than 60 or 70 pieces of merchandise from a handful of international brands. Passersby would peer into what Dilawri described as a fishbowl – the original space was wall-to-wall glass.

Word-of-mouth was – and still is – key before the internet had the chance to discover Neighbour. “I was relying on friends to buy Mackintosh jackets,” he said.

Raised in Ottawa, Dilawri studied fashion merchandising at Parsons School of Design in New York in the late 2000s before joining menswear brand Unis. At U.S. trade shows such as MAN, a seasonal exhibition for retailers and buyers to preview new collections, he kept hearing the same thing: The collections weren’t available in Vancouver, and often not in Canada at all.

Seeing an opportunity, Dilawri decided to open his Vancouver boutique. Fifteen years later, Neighbour is recognized internationally for its discerning eye, early conviction in emerging labels and curatorial authority in contemporary menswear.

“I didn’t want it to be a good or great store in Vancouver,” he said. “I wanted it to be a good or great store around the world.”

Walking into the shop, one finds a modern, considered take on men’s clothing – button-up shirts, overcoats and knits – elevated through the use of exactingly sourced materials and small design elements such as buttons and finishing touches that take the pieces beyond the conventions of typical men’s wardrobes.

From the beginning, it was important to Dilawri to have lasting relationships with brands. “We’re not going to pick up a brand just because it’s cool right now,” he said. “I want to be able to grow with it.”

Above all else, the store is beloved for its curation. If there’s a secret to that curation, perhaps it’s Dilawri’s literal hands-on approach. “I want to be able to touch everything,” he said, speaking of fabric, dye and construction. “The touch matters. The story matters. The person behind the brand matters.”

Dilawri is equally attentive to distribution. If a label is already ubiquitous, he is less interested. He prefers to be early, to identify a brand with longevity before it becomes overexposed. The goal is a relationship that evolves over seasons and years.

Our Legacy, a Swedish label manufactured mainly in Portugal, was an emerging brand when Neighbour started retailing it in 2011. It has since gained a global following for its well-made everyday pieces featuring thoughtful designs, such as jeans with a trompe l’oeil print creating a distressed look.

In 2015, Neighbour expanded into womenswear, and in 2019 launched a new space focused on homewares. In February, the store relocated from its original location – which remains in operation – opening the doors to its new men’s flagship on Cordova Street (the women’s flagship is next door).

The retailer has also been successful at making inroads beyond Canada, particularly through relationships cultivated at events such as Paris Fashion Week, with an international network of brands, buyers, designers, journalists and tastemakers.

Jonah Weiner, author of the menswear newsletter Blackbird Spyplane, was more explicit about Dilawri’s influence. “If Neighbour picks up a new brand, like Unkruid, that’s a huge co-sign, kind of like a respected music label signing a band,” he said. The writer points to the in-store staff, models and even the precision of the clothing measurements on the website as part of that authority.

“What it all adds up to is a great encapsulation of which labels in the ‘slow clothes’ universe are worth paying attention to right now,” he added. Weiner defined “slow clothes” as pieces that are timeless and well-made, rooted in fabric, craft and sustainable production practices.

That considered approach has not gone unnoticed by the wider industry. In 2025, Dilawri and his wife and business partner, Karyna Schultz (who leads buying and styling for Neighbour women’s), were featured in the BoF 500, the Business of Fashion’s annual list of the most influential people shaping the global fashion industry. The inclusion places the duo alongside luxury executives, designers and cultural power brokers such as media personality and SKIMS founder Kim Kardashian and pioneering Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto.

So, what does one of the city’s most tasteful buyers think about taste itself?

“I don’t think there’s bad taste. I think there’s just individuality,” Dilawri said. “What brings me the most pleasure from the store is having someone come in and not knowing anything that you’re carrying, but still appreciating what you have without looking at the label.”