Marie Saint Pierre, one of Canada’s best-known and loved designers, gave me a tour of her Montreal atelier and then sat down to discuss the origins of her clothing line and the interplay between the skills her business requires and her essence.
Marie reveals herself to be endlessly creative, independent, determined, restless in her desire to experience the new, protective, and deeply attuned to purpose.
One aspect of clothing design that Marie relishes is that each client co-creates the garment in how she wears it: the garment is Marie’s distinctive design, and it’s more, allowing for a satisfying personal connection often made explicit by clients.
In her fourth decade as a business owner, Marie forthrightly describes the nightmares of financing and production, getting into the fascinating details of the fibers and fabrics that make her line unique. “You have to be able to let go and take risks all the time,” Marie says, and to tackle the multitude of problems “your mind needs to be athletic.”
Marie’s mind certainly runs ultramarathons, but you’ll enjoy hearing how her heart keeps pace!
