Baggy trousers, mohair sweaters that drape just so, boxy T-shirts: Toronto fashion brand Uncle Studios is the epitome of cool. So it’s no surprise that the company has chosen the coolest street in Toronto — Ossington — for their first brick-and-mortar shop, eight years after its inception.
“We weren’t planning on opening a store this year, but when this great space became available, we jumped on it,” Allegra Shaw, cool-girl-in-chief and co-founder of Uncle Studios, says. “The foot traffic here is unmatched, and the vibe really fits our brand.”
Shaw got her start as an influencer back in 2015 through YouTube, and has since amassed 890,000 followers there, as well as almost 400,000 on Instagram and 180,000 on TikTok. She says Uncle Studios began as a quest to create the perfect white T-shirt for her and co-founder Shirin Soltani.
“Now with every piece that we do, we keep that mentality in mind — how can we make the perfect sweater, the perfect pair of jeans that we’re wearing over and over? We want the cost-per-wear to be so low, so that it becomes a staple in your wardrobe.”
That mindset ties into the overall eco-conscious mission of Uncle Studios, which began with the search for sustainable materials and manufacturers and has evolved into a brand that offers a “Back to US” program, where customers can sell back lived-in pieces to the company and purchase from a collection of upcycled, preloved and sample pieces. Also new to Uncle Studios is a pre-order model that encourages mindful consumption by putting their latest collection on the end-of-season sale at the beginning.
“Oftentimes the product launches, it sits out for X amount of weeks or months, and then it goes on the end-of-season sale,” Shaw explains. “This way, you get the sale price at the beginning, and you’re helping a small business bring in the right amount of product instead of overproducing, which is bad for us and the environment.”
Uncle Studios is now open at 46 Ossington Ave., where customers can not only shop, but also grab a drink and a seat at the in-house coffee shop. “People are really looking for community in person, so we wanted to create a space where people can hang out,” Shaw says.
It also makes sense from a business standpoint: “Especially with our price point, I understand wanting to try something on, make sure that it fits you and that you’re going to actually love it and wear it. So I think customers will really benefit from this in-person location,” she says. “And I also just love seeing independent stores pop up all over the city — it’s great for Toronto.”
Uncle Studios will definitely fit right in on Ossington; already the new storefront, with its minimalist signage and trending red exterior, looks like it’s always been there.
Shaw says she would describe the brand’s overall vibe as casual, cool and nostalgic. “We pull from memories and a lot of family. Shirin was born in Iran, so we use a lot of her family history and then my family history, as well as my cousin, Bobby [Dunn], who is also a co-founder,” she says. “We’re really influenced by what people were wearing in the ’90s and the 2000s and even the ’80s; we’re fascinated by the past and how it’s going to influence the future.”
If all goes well, Shaw says she and Soltani have plans to eventually take Uncle Studios international. “We’d love to open more stores and build that community — our brand already has global customers online, so we hope we can translate that to the physical retail aspect.”
