Indigenous artist Sonny Assu's work can be found at the Canada Goose store in Oakridge Park. Photo by Canada Goose /Handout

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There’s a striking garment at the centre of the Canada Goose store at Oakridge Centre in Vancouver that stands out among the Toronto brand’s wares.

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Called the Wayfinder Button Blanket, the striking piece by Ligwiłda’xw artist Sonny Assu merges Kwakwaka’wakw iconography and form with a few hallmarks of the Canadian clothing brand.

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“The uniqueness of this piece comes from how Canada Goose asks artists to use their jackets and parkas as a basis for their art,” says Assu. “I toyed with a couple of ideas for what to do with a parka. In the end, I settled on using its materials to create a regalia-inspired work with contemporary materials.”

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Noting there were a couple of “a-ha moments” during the creation process, Assu leaned into the mixed media approach, using the Canada Goose logo patch for the eye on the design, and an elbow patch from a Snow Mantra Parka jacket as an inset ovoid of the overall goose design.

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“The biggest one for this piece was utilizing the pocket flaps as a design element,” says Assu. “They reminded me not only of the shape of a Big House, but also of the Chilkat regalia, which became the basis for my Chilkat painting and textile series.”

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The Wayfinder Button Blanket by Indigenous artist Sonny Assu is shown on display at the Canada Goose store at Oakridge Park in Vancouver. Photo by Canada Goose /Handout

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Initially designed as a wall-hanging, it’s now displayed as an oversized, floor-standing installation.

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“As a fairly large dude, this regalia is too big for even me! So I joke that it’s Dzunuk’wa-sized (Giant, Wild Woman of the Woods),” Assu says of the creation, which came to life with the help of Builders Anonymous, a Toronto-based film and TV costume and prop-builder.

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The multidisciplinary artist, who was raised in North Delta and studied art at Emily Carr University, created the garment specifically for the retail store after being contacted by Canada Goose.

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“I liked Canada Goose’s art collection and how they work with artists, so I jumped at the chance,” Assu says.

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The Wayfinder Button Blanket is joined by a Longhouse Panel mural painting by the artist.

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A clothing boutique isn’t a typical point of discovery for art or local artists, but that peculiarity is precisely why Assu wanted to be involved.

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“Many of my works are in private or public gallery/museum collections,” Assu says. “So, depending on the context, they might not be easily accessible to the public. I think retail art collections that are part of the store layout are a great way to expose people to art and artists.”

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The work in progress of a painting by Indigenous artist Sonny Assu, which is also on display at the Canada Goose store at Oakridge Park. Photo by Canada Goose /Handout

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Assu’s works inside the Canada Goose boutique in Oakridge join hundreds of other artist creations that are part of the collection owned by the brand.

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“We have 700-plus in the works and are continuing to grow this number further,” says Natalie MacNamara, an art curator who works with Canada Goose on a project basis. “Our collection started in 2016 with the opening of our first retail location in Toronto at Yorkdale Mall, where we featured a small collection of stone carvings. “The collection has since expanded to drawings, paintings, sculptures and large architecturally integrated commissions from hundreds of Inuit, Indigenous, Canadian and international artists.”