When James Yurichuk closed Wuxly’s Queen Street West flagship earlier this year, the reason wasn’t what most people assumed. The sustainable outerwear brand that began with a 2015 Kickstarter campaign has quietly transformed into something entirely different.
“When I came back at the start of January 2025, I had a realization,” says Yurichuk in an exclusive interview. “We had this consumer business and we had this defense business. The defense business was far leading us not only with our revenue, but also passion.”
Over the past few years, notably since the crisis in Ukraine, Wuxly has been providing defense and aerospace products to help Ukraine, Canada, peacekeepers and other NATO nations, including those in the Nordic region. For Yurichuk, a Ukrainian-Canadian, this work became deeply personal. “Being Ukrainian myself and a proud Canadian, this was something that was really near and dear to me,” he explains.
The military connection isn’t entirely new for the brand. “When I look back at our brand, it’s been a brand that’s always been inspired by military in some way or another,” Yurichuk says. “Back when I started our first Kickstarter in 2015, the materials I used were derived from military suppliers in Canada. I pulled these materials together to make our first car coat. So it’s always been part of our story.”
But at the start of this year, Yurichuk decided to fully embrace what he calls “Wuxly 2.0.” This meant consolidating operations from Queen Street to their Mississauga Innovation Centre and repositioning the brand messaging. “It just wasn’t the way that I had envisioned the brand. So I stepped back into the creative director position.”
The result is a company with a clear new framework: “It’s engineered for duty and designed for life,” Yurichuk explains. “Every Wuxly product is born from defense and aerospace grade textile engineering where performance is absolutely necessary.”
All products are now manufactured under ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards—certifications the company achieved in 2024 along with B-Corp status. “These are the highest military aerospace related standards,” Yurichuk notes. “And we make all our products that way.”
The upcoming Stackt Market pop-up, opening November 14, represents the first public unveiling of this transformation. “We’re really excited to unveil this as we integrate this defense portion and aerospace portion into our brand,” Yurichuk says.
The timing aligns with Stackt’s Holiday Hills festival, which expects over 200,000 visitors through December 29. For a company that now operates in conflict zones, Toronto logistics are manageable. “When it comes to setting up a pop-up in Toronto, it’s something that could be well managed by our team,” Yurichuk notes. “We have to deliver product all the way into conflict zones.”
The location also offers strategic positioning. “It’s really close to that outstanding development that’s been built on Front Street,” he observes.
With this business evolution, Wuxly has shifted toward direct customer relationships rather than traditional retail partnerships. “Given our work in the tactical defense field, we kind of just like people to come directly to us to get that Wuxly experience,” Yurichuk says. “We want to ensure that the story is told exactly how it is and the way that we’ve evolved.”
The company maintains its network of Canadian stockists, from Halifax’s Trail Shop to Blue Mountain’s Squire John’s, and continues welcoming visitors to their Mississauga facility by appointment.
Yurichuk’s global travels now serve dual purposes—researching technologies for both defense and consumer applications. “Getting global has been important for us because it’s led by R&D,” he explains. “I go to trade shows around the world and I see more innovation happening there than what I’ll see on any runway, and I’m extracting that and bringing some of these technologies back.”
The approach is paying off internationally. “We’re a brand that’s starting to get sought after in European locations,” he says.
The ongoing collaboration with Bryan Adams, now in its third iteration, exemplifies how Wuxly approaches creative partnerships. “Bryan Adams has always been like a muse for us at Wuxly,” Yurichuk explains. “He’s a true creative. It doesn’t stop at the music or photography. The same caliber that he brings into those areas, he applies when he creates with us, and he genuinely works close with our team.”
Observing Toronto’s retail evolution, including newcomers like Simons entering Eaton Centre and Yorkdale, Yurichuk emphasizes ecosystem thinking. “It’s good to see brands doing it. It’s an ecosystem of brands,” he says. “It takes a whole ecosystem to get that credibility and the infrastructure that’s needed to run a fashion brand.”
He credits Toronto’s fashion education programs at institutions like Seneca, Humber, and Toronto Metropolitan University for creating industry talent and infrastructure.
For Yurichuk, wearing Canadian brands abroad carries special meaning. “I think we found out this year there’s a lot to be proud of being Canadian right now,” he reflects. “When you’re wearing a Wuxly abroad, you’re signaling that same message. Those who know what we’re about know we’re a proud Canadian company, and it says so inside every tag that we’re making.”
The company maintains its environmental focus within this new framework. “We continue to uphold that environmental discipline that we’ve always had,” Yurichuk notes. “But there’s been a big development and evolution in the brand, and we’re really excited to unveil this as we get to our second decade in existence.”
The Stackt pop-up runs Tuesday through Sunday, 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. “I’d love to invite everyone to come by starting November 14,” Yurichuk says. “Come see the Stackt Market if you haven’t—it really is a gem in Toronto. There are some other cool local businesses, so we’re proud to be among them.”
Dustin Fuhs is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of 6ix Retail, Toronto’s premier source for retail and hospitality industry news. As the former Editor-in-Chief of Retail Insider, Canada’s most-read retail trade publication, Dustin brings over two decades of expertise spanning retail, marketing, entertainment and hospitality sectors. His experience includes leadership roles with industry giants such as The Walt Disney Company, The Hockey Hall of Fame, Starbucks and Blockbuster.
Recognized as a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert in 2024 and 2025, Dustin delivers insider perspectives on Toronto’s evolving retail landscape, from emerging brands to established players reshaping the city’s commercial districts.