Aritzia’s mirrorless fitting rooms are beloved, bemoaned and occasionally satirised by the Canadian retailer’s customers.
Veronica Uy, 28, a dental hygienist and part-time content creator, lives close to Aritzia’s hometown flagship in Vancouver, but says she’ll mostly shop online to avoid having to model potential purchases in front of other shoppers at the communal mirrors positioned outside the changing stalls.
“If you feel insecure, you still have to go out there because it’s the only way you can see yourself,” Uy said.
For Laura Hogya, 37, a freelance publicist in Orange County, California, the mirrors — placed under flattering lighting amid lounge seating affectionately known as boyfriend sofas, are a draw.
“It is a little genius, having shoppers validate each other on what they’re trying on. Like, ‘Oh girl, those jeans look great on you,’” Hogya said. “You step out, see other people and you become part of this community.”
On one point Uy and Hogya both agree: Whatever they think of the mirrors, they love, love, love Aritzia’s clothing. Both described the retailer’s wardrobe staples, which include workwear and leggings alike, as high quality and extremely flattering — “snatching,” as Uy put it.
Those controversial mirrors are just one example of how Aritzia’s idiosyncratic approach to retail has ignited a passionate, and rapidly growing, fandom. Founded four decades ago, the company sells what it bills as “everyday luxury,” a category teeming with retailers selling basics at every price point, from H&M to Toteme. Aritzia occupies a space in the less-crowded middle of the market, with $100 dresses and $50 tops priced above Zara or Gap, but at one-half or one-third contemporary labels like Reformation or Ganni.
Unlike most of its competitors, Aritzia rarely goes big with glossy advertisements and seldom taps celebrity ambassadors (though a campaign with Pamela Anderson scored considerable press last year). Instead, the company is focused on growing its network of stores, which chief executive Jennifer Wong told The Business of Fashion she considers the company’s most effective marketing tool, and its wide selection of 10 private brands, each designed to serve a different occasion in the lives of its customers as they transition from teenagers to middle age and beyond.
Taken together, Aritzia’s approach has inspired an unusual degree of evangelism among customers, who post countless try-on haul videos on TikTok, most of which the company said is organic. It’s now counting on that passion as it opens dozens of stores in the US, including giant new flagships in New York and Chicago. Some 100 locations are planned in the coming decade, on top of 124 stores in the US and Canada today.
“Our culture is methodical, structured and organised,” said Wong, who started at Aritzia as a sales associate in 1987 and took the helm in 2022 after founder Brian Hill stepped down after 38 years in the role. “I always say we’ve been on a 40-year continuous improvement track.”
The Price-to-Quality Ratio
A critical ingredient for the retailer’s popularity in recent years is its position in the market as neither fast fashion nor luxury.
It’s a price point that few retailers target, catching both fast-fashion shoppers who see Aritzia as a splurge and customers who perceive it as an affordable, high-quality alternative to premium brands.
“There’s no one that does exactly what we do because we don’t put ourselves in a category or a box,” said Wong.
Ina Yang, 31, said she typically shops from brands like Maje and Acne Studios, as well as on resale platforms for higher-end luxury pieces. Aritzia is the only mass retailer she frequents. Yang owns five pairs of its best-selling Effortless pants and still wears an Aritzia leather jacket she purchased 10 years ago.
Nichelle Laliberte, 27, said Aritzia has been great for building a new capsule wardrobe that’s longer lasting than fast fashion.
“Instead of buying the same product every year because it’s worn out or broken down, I’d rather have something for several years and be able to pass it down to my children,” she said. “I’m in the process of rehabilitating my closet space and it’s one of the main stores I gravitate towards in order to do that.”
That value proposition is at the heart of Aritzia’s brand, Wong said.
“I think of it as two axes. There’s the fashion quotient and then there’s the price quotient,” she said. “I would position us with a high fashion quotient and an attainable price point.”
Quality and consistency are terms that come up again and again in conversation with Aritzia shoppers.
“Aritzia has the best quality pieces that I’ve owned, that I’ll probably keep forever,” said Jules Jacobson, 30, a content creator based in New York. She said she owns 40-odd pieces from the brand, though some were gifted, including different versions of the same styles such as the Effortless pants and sweat sets.
Creating the Perfect Shopping Experience
Aritzia’s culture of perfectionism is embodied by the tactful Wong. Even with internal matters, Wong strives for constant improvement. Last week, she delayed a company-wide earnings memo by two days in order to draft a better version.
“We’re always iterating even to the 11th hour,” she said. “There are times where it’s really tough … But it was just reported to me that [the memo] had one of the highest click-through rates. And that’s with internal staff.”
In fact, like Wong, 11 percent of the company’s corporate employees have been with the retailer for 10 years or longer.
Outwardly, Aritzia’s pursuit of excellence has certainly made a difference in customer satisfaction. Shoppers point to the stores’ easy-to-navigate setup, as well as convenient online functions that few other retailers seem to offer.
“What Aritzia does so well is integrating online with offline,” said Leigh Sevin, co-founder of retail marketing platform Endear. “When you go online to locate a store, all the important information is there, including a green tag that tells you, ‘We’re open today until 9 p.m.’”
Each Aritzia store has its own web page with factoids about the location, the services offered there and other attractions in the neighbourhood, such as restaurants and art galleries.
Its superfans also highlight Aritzia’s compelling visual merchandising in-person and online, and straightforward wayfinding inside the stores.
“Their layout of all the clothes is very special,” said Laliberte. “They have sections dedicated to business casual, casual, gymwear and loungewear, and I’ll know exactly where I’m going to find something I need … If I go to other places everything tends to be mixed together.”
Aritzia relishes any customer feedback it receives, according to Wong.
“We’re always striving to get five out of five stars, and from teams in the atelier, at the service counter or on the sales floor, we’re always getting feedback,” she said. “We’re very obsessed with what the customer wants.”
That doesn’t mean Aritzia tries to please everyone, all of the time. The retailer plans to keep the mirrors out of changing rooms in its new stores, though each boutique now has at least one stall with its own mirror.
“While it’s not for everyone, the overwhelming majority of our clients have responded to it, and you can see that in the level of activity, energy and traffic that happen in our stores,” Wong said.
Don’t Say ‘Minimalist’
When quiet luxury dominated the trend cycle last year, Aritzia was at the forefront with bestsellers like the wide-leg crepe Effortless trousers, body-hugging Contour tops and wool-cashmere blend double-breasted coats.
“They just have so many great casual basics and staple pieces,” said Laliberte. “Each one I’ve found to fit me perfectly and it’s always super comfortable.”
Customers today see the retailer as a destination for these pared back minimalist staples, but Wong said she rejects the notion that Aritzia has a specific signature style. Rather, its product strategy is very much rooted in delivering on the trends du jour, albeit through a subdued — or “sophisticated,” as Wong referred to it — lens.
“It might be a minimalist moment in fashion right now, but there was a time when it was a maximalist moment and our brands played that up too,” she said. “If there’s an athleisure moment, we have items that can play to that moment. If suiting is having a moment, we can have items that can play up to that. There’s not one word that can describe our style”
The magic perhaps lies in the styling and easy-to-wear nature of each piece, its shoppers say. “They’re so good at putting outfits together, so if you’re feeling lost in fashion right now but you like Aritzia’s basic style, they’ll show you what to wear with something in particular or multiple ways,” said Jacobson.
Product pages include other items featured in the modelled look; for instance, the Cozy Fleece Mega Sweatpant in grey is paired with an oversized navy blazer and a white T-shirt.
Ultimately, it’s Aritzia’s compelling products that make it irresistible to patrons. Even those who complain about the semi-private fitting rooms can find forgiveness in the face of good, reliable fashion.
“Aritzia clothes just make you hot,” said Uy. “There’s something about the way it fits. Even a T-shirt.”
