On a trip to Japan in 2024, Simon Smith had an idea — a menswear line that married the style and functionality of workwear with the durability of martial arts uniforms. He returned home to Vancouver and immediately took the idea to Raeland Mendoza, a creative director and clothing designer he’d met in the city. Mendoza loved the idea, and the pair hit the ground running, developing a new brand — Held In Form — and a fall/winter line in just over six months. Now ready to debut the inaugural collection, the designers have come to Edmonton, where Mendoza is from, to celebrate with a launch party at Foosh, the Edmonton shop that helped him start his career.
“I automatically went to Edmonton,” Mendoza says. “This is my hometown. This is the community that means the most to me.”
With 26 years of business in Edmonton, Foosh is an important part of the city’s fashion scene — and Mendoza’s career. As a young designer, he collaborated with Foosh on his previous brand endeavour, I’ll Call You Tomorrow, and was mentored by owner Justin Der, and managers Pat Zubiri and Mac Doucette. Mendoza knew he wanted to highlight the local store and draw attention to the lineage he is furthering with Held In Form.
“They were the first retailer to ever take a chance on my designs,” he says.
Although Mendoza now lives in Vancouver, he feels “pretty Edmonton as hell.” The collection, too, is informed by the city and its geography — clothing that makes sense for Canadians, informed by streetwear and Japanese fashion.
Crafted from woven sashiko fabric, typically used to make martial arts uniforms, Held In Form reimagines the textile as the perfect material for elevated, functional menswear. Like blue jeans and chore coats (both of which appear in the collection), sashiko fabric has roots in blue collar and rural communities.
“We’re sturdy, we’re durable, we’re substantial, but we’re also bringing these elevated silhouettes,” says Smith.
“Clothing has to match your pace, not the other way around,” Mendoza adds.
Having grown up in the city, Mendoza has a deep love for Edmonton — and while it’s not known as a fashion hub, Mendoza sees its influence in the industry. He points to brands like the historic Edmonton-based Great Western Garment Co., which pioneered stone-washed denim, and innovative new designers like HAVEN’s Daniel and Arthur Chielmewski, who hail from Edmonton.
When it came time to manufacture the pieces, Smith and Mendoza didn’t have to look far. Smith’s mother owns a company in Shanghai that has produced clothing for iconic New York streetwear brands like Rocawear — perfectly positioned to bring Held In Form to life.
“They’re very experienced with creating garments of all sorts,” Smith adds. “But a lot of things we’re asking of them, they haven’t done before…everyone’s along on this ride of figuring out how to create this thing.”
Held In Form’s launch party will be held at Foosh’s downtown location on November 7, 2025, at 7pm.
