As part of its ongoing involvement in the development of designers, Ssense is currently championing Marine Serre – who won the LVMH Prize last year – and the London-based label Kwaidan Editions. “We see ourselves as a sponsor for creative talent and a place that supports people, who are challenging convention and who are moving fashion and culture forward. This place is an excellent platform to allow us to creative special events with those people and showcase this for the customer. It’s a place we can really build our community,” Atallah reflected. Asked if the outré cultural defiance embodied by an artist like Arca might be too niche for some customers, the Ssense founder said it was basically the point. “When you are supporting people, who are challenging the conventions, it’s not going to be for everybody. But those are the people influencing fashion and culture, and it’s going to take time to trickle down to the general public.”

Ssense Montréal opens to the public on May 3rd.