Sonny Assu's Wayfinder Button Blanket becomes centrepiece of new Canada Goose Vancouver store

A striking oversized installation by Ligwiłda'xw artist Sonny Assu now anchors the new Canada Goose store at Oakridge Centre in Vancouver, merging Kwakwaka'wakw iconography with the Toronto brand's jacket materials.

The Wayfinder Button Blanket, originally designed as a wall-hanging, now stands as a floor installation so large Assu jokes it's "Dzunuk'wa-sized" — fit for the Giant Wild Woman of the Woods. The piece uses Canada Goose logo patches as eyes in the design and incorporates elbow patches from a Snow Mantra Parka jacket as an inset ovoid of the goose design. The pocket flaps from the parkas became another design element, reminding Assu of both the shape of a Big House and the Chilkat regalia that inspired his broader textile series.

"The uniqueness of this piece comes from how Canada Goose asks artists to use their jackets and parkas as a basis for their art," Assu said. "In the end, I settled on using its materials to create a regalia-inspired work with contemporary materials."

Assu, who was raised in North Delta and studied art at Emily Carr University, created the garment with support from Builders Anonymous, a Toronto-based film and TV costume and prop-builder. A complementary Longhouse Panel mural painting by Assu also hangs in the store.

Canada Goose holds more than 700 Indigenous art pieces in its retail collection, a collection that began in 2016 with the opening of the company's first store in Toronto at Yorkdale Mall, where it featured stone carvings. The collection has since expanded to include drawings, paintings, sculptures, and large architectural commissions from hundreds of Inuit, Indigenous, Canadian, and international artists.

Many of the stone carvings and limited-edition prints found in the company's retail stores are created by artists working in studios across the Arctic. "We're proud to introduce these works to a wider audience, and for guests interested in acquiring a piece, we're happy to facilitate introductions," said Natalie MacNamara, an art curator who works with Canada Goose.

For Assu, the retail setting offers accessibility. "Many of my works are in private or public gallery and museum collections," he said. "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."