When it comes to outerwear strategy for 2026, diversification is key.
With the aim of having their companies be a year-round business, leading outerwear-makers are expanding their offerings with a broad range of fabrics; adding new categories, such as footwear and knitwear; opening more stores both domestically and internationally, and expanding their ready-to-wear offerings.
“2025 has been an exceptional year for us, so there is no signs of slowing down right now, which is a testament to what we’ve been doing for the past four years in terms of the brand,” said Tanya Golesic, chief executive officer of Mackage, the Montreal-based lifestyle brand. “It’s always obviously product first and the unique product proposition that we have, combining product and function is definitely a winning combination for us,” said Golesic, noting the business experienced a double-digit increase in 2025. Mackage experienced a key shout-out when Bravo’s Andy Cohen wore a light blue puffer to host CNN’s New Year’s Eve special, which went viral.
Golesic said their storytelling continues to be very important, and the company has been working with world-class athletes, from football players in the NFL to the NBA. “We’ve really had an exceptional customer experience in terms of 2025 and really getting to know our consumer better and what they like from us. So we’re continuing to work on telling the story of being a seasonless brand working on the shoulder seasons,” she said.
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Discussing the impact of tariffs on the company, Golesic said they were very proactive. Most of its products are made in Europe and some of their products are made in Asia. “So we were able to partner with our factories and move some of our production [out of China] to Vietnam and the rest to Europe, so we weren’t impacted by tariffs, the way a lot of people were,” she said. She said they were able to react quickly, get on airplanes and fix it. “So from a pricing standpoint, we had a minimal price increase. I think it was 2 percent, and for 2026, we’ve remained flat,” she said.
Mackage has never done any manufacturing in Canada, and ships directly from Asia and Europe.
Among the developments for 2026 is opening a new three-level flagship on Madison Avenue and 69th Street, much larger than its location on Madison Avenue and 68th Street. She said the new location has high ceilings and is a corner space so they have all the windows on both Madison and the side streets, “so we can make a beautiful presentation,” she said. They also have a store in SoHo and five other units in the U.S.
Mackage plans to open a London flagship in 2026, and they’re looking in Saint Moritz for a location. “As you know, every year in January we are a sponsor of the World Cup of Snow Polo so Switzerland has been amazing for us,” she said. As far as North America goes, a Chicago store is also on deck for 2026.
For 2026, Mackage is the official clothing sponsor of the Croatian national team for the FIFA World Cup, which takes place in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. They’re working with world-famous footballers. With 3 billion people watching the World Cup, “it’s a huge world stage for us,” she said.
Mackage will also launch footwear in 2026. “We’re looking at sneakers and different types of footwear that echos the aesthetics that protect the same way as our outerwear,” she said. The sneakers will launch direct-to-consumer in the spring.
As part of their seasonless story, they’re building shops-in-shop on the luxury floor with their brand partners in 2026, starting with Holt Renfrew and Harrods in London. Wholesale is about 30 percent of Mackage’s business, with accounts such as Bloomingdale’s and Neiman Marcus, where they focus on their top doors. Globally, they have 20 Mackage stores.
Ebru Ercon, chief design officer of The North Face, feels optimistic about 2026. “Like the rest of the industry, we are navigating a complex macro environment, but we see tremendous momentum in the outdoor space and the growing enthusiasm and interest in the snow, trail and climb opportunities,” she said.
“Our lifestyle consumer continues to over perform with the Nuptse being a top seller. Retail is undergoing a significant transformation, and for The North Face, that means investing strategically in the future. By delivering innovation and by reimagining the role of our stores in the consumer experience, we’re positioning the brand to help shape the next era of retail excellence,” he said.
Ercon said the company continues to see “substantial opportunity at the intersection of performance and lifestyle.”
“Our technical expertise heritage, paired with a focus on innovation, is fueling tremendous demand in trail and footwear, and we are making meaningful gains in our women’s and youth business. Our Summit Series continues to be a priority for the brand and the obsessed consumer,” Ercon said.
The company continues to do well in Asia and Europe, along with its home base, the U.S. “The North Face is unique in that our business is equally successful in Asia and Europe as well as here in the States. Our wholesale business is strong and continues to grow with our key parters. We are always exploring new partners internationally and have worked with Lane Crawford, Breuninger, Asos, Zalando, Flannels and LuisaViaRoma, to name a few,” he said.
As far as new opportunities the company is pursuing in the first half, Ercon said, “We’re accelerating our product assortment to serve both edges [the obsessed or performance and expressive or lifestyle with the commercial middle in between] and will launch a second collection for Red Box in February. Our Nuptse jacket continues to be one of our most popular styles globally and is one of the brand’s icons. The brand will celebrate its 60th anniversary and will relaunch the Nuptse in the fall. We are also investing in a more integrated physical-digital experience across our stores and e-commerce platforms over the coming year. These are the key areas that will position The North Face for long-term, global growth.”
Ellen Kinney, president of Moose Knuckles, based in Montreal, said, “I came on board about six months ago and we have a newly reorganized marketing, design and merchandising team, and those three departments are going to be critical for our growth in the next few years. But mainly in the work they’re going to do in the next year and even six months, you’ll start to see the effects of that.” In addition, they are working to “get back to the roots” of who this brand really is and its DNA.
Moose Knuckles aims to do things differently from its competition and wants to be a bit cooler and a little bit younger and more culturally relevant to the landscape, Kinney said. She said the brand was born out of fashion-infused performance outerwear. “And I think that’s what our audience loves about our products, that it’s actually made very well and can hang with the likes of Canada Goose and Moncler, but it’s a little bit more youthful and a little bit more fashion informed, and a bit more urban,” she said.
They are also expanding their spring offerings. She said they’ll always be a fall heavy-led season, but there’s opportunity for them to do more in spring, driven by lightweight outerwear and expansion into ready-to-wear. Originally they produced entirely in Canada, but now they produce in Asia, Europe, South America, and China, with do some work in Canada.
When she came on board, the company engaged Matte Creative in New York. While they’re going back to their roots, they’re modernizing the brand going forward. Rather than traditional methods of advertising and influencers, they’re looking to engage more with the community. They are doing an initiative with Malik and JaBari Williams, Los Angeles-based identical twin models, creators and filmmakers known for blending fashion modeling with self-directed storytelling across short-form video and campaign work. “They’re adorable and they really resonate with our community. We love the way they respond to the brand.…It’s very real and we love the authenticity and the way it speaks to our customer,” she said.
The brand also has a new global creative director, Ludovico Bruno.
She said wholesale is a third of Moose Knuckles’ business, and the U.S. accounts for a third of that. They are primarily direct-to-consumer. She said price increases were “barely noticeable” in 2025 and are stable for 2026.
Moose Knuckles has 12 full-price stores and eight outlets between North America and Europe. They have 17 stores in China. She said they’re not planning new stores in the first half. “You’ll see that more in the second half, because today we’re more heavily weighted to fall. But going into 2027, I think you’ll see a more seasonal balance, and that’s when we’ll begin to expand in the first half of the year in locations that are not as demographically specific to the fall winter season,” she said.
Bojana Sentaler, founder, president and creative director of Sentaler, the Toronto-based outerwear luxury brand, said the company will launch a capsule collection and limited drops for winter 2026 and spring 2026 for its direct-to-consumer business. “We’ve seen a significant increase in client requests for special-order styles, and we’ll continue to respond with small, highly exclusive product drops designed to meet the demand while preserving brand integrity and scarcity,” Sentaler said. She said they will introduce a select number of see now, buy now pieces from the upcoming fall 2026 collection in the spring, catering to clients who value exclusivity and being first to experience new designs.
Discussing the key challenges in 2026, Sentaler said, “We entered 2026 with double-digit growth and expect that momentum to continue. Winter-weight coats remain our strongest category in the first quarter and demand continues to rise. At the same time, we are navigating ongoing global supply chain delays, increased raw material costs and rising shipping and tariff costs. These challenges require careful forecasting, disciplined inventory management and close collaboration with our partners — areas we prioritize to protect both margins and our products,” Sentaler said.
E-commerce remains a major growth engine, and the company is evaluating select U.S. markets for retail expansion. Their international business continues to grow steadily, driven largely by e-commerce, she said. “We’re seeing strong traction in Europe — particularly Germany and Italy — as well as in Asia and the Middle East, where appreciation for craftsmanship and luxury outerwear is strong,” she said.
Sentaler said she continues to see significant demand for spring outwear. “I’ve been working for several years on developing the ideal lightweight natural fabrics to meet this need, and in 2026, those efforts will finally come to life. Expanding our spring offering is a critical step toward building a true 12-month business — one that remains rooted in our outerwear expertise while evolving to meet our client’s lifestyle year-round. Capsule collections, transitional pieces and lighter-weight designs allow us to stay relevant beyond peak winter while maintaining the brand’s core identity,” she said.
