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When you hear Bootlegger, you probably think ‘jeans’ – if you’re thinking ‘hillbilly moonshine in a darkened Chicago alley’ that’s a different bootlegger all together. Seriously though, with 98 stores across the country, Bootlegger has placed itself as Canada’s jean expert. Finding the right pair of jeans isn’t as easy as it sounds. Different brands fit differently, different denim hugs differently, different cuts will make you look different. One size doesn’t fit all. That’s why at Bootlegger, they offer a lot more than just a good jean selection. Sure they carry the brands that you want, but more importantly they can help guide you into the right pair of jeans. They won’t just sell you the brand because it sounds cool because that’s not nice, and the people are at Bootlegger are very nice, knowledgeable people. That’s why they’re called Jean-e-ologists – they’re experts that care, basically loveable scientists of denim.

So if you’re a company that prides itself on being Jean-e-ologists, your website had better live up to expectations. Cowie and Fox has designed and built the Bootlegger brand website for years, and has made sure that the experience was always a reflection of the ideals that the brand lives by. This year, though, Cowie and Fox has taken it a step further and has launched the Bootlegger brand into the world of e-commerce. Cowie and Fox’s award winning front end design and creative flair has been supplemented by the back end programming genius that is Elastic Path. The seamless partnership between Cowie and Fox, and Elastic Path has allowed for a dynamic and functional site that is easy to navigate, yet, visually stunning. It may sound simple, but co-ordination between front end and back end is something that is often awkward and difficult. When co-ordination and communication is bad you end up with websites that are clunky and incomprehensibly hard to navigate. Ever found yourself feverishly hitting the back button in your browser in effort to get back to where you came from? Not only does the product not come up to par, but in these cases the budget and timeframe also usually gets thrown out the window. That’s probably why the Bootlegger was so chuffed with how smoothly things worked out with their new site:

“The teams at both Elastic Path and Cowie & Fox were great to work with for the development of our e-commerce solution. It was with their hard work and dedication that this project came together on time, and on budget. Thanks for the great work.”
Dustin May :: Director of marketing, Bootlegger

Take a peek at the Jean-e-ologists’ new home ››

Athletic apparel is some of the most comfortable clothing you can wear, yet, it is also some of the most unfashionable clothing you can wear. At some point long, long ago, style and function were decreed incompatible. Somehow, the world has gone on without questioning this for centuries – why do you think the first Olympians raced naked? You just couldn’t wear your running toga in the agora or you’d be laughed at. It was better to run around naked, and then slip on your market-wear when you went into town.

Things didn’t get better over the centuries, especially not for women. You only have to look at a few photos from the birth of the WPGA, and you’ll agree. A man’s argyle sweater-vest thrown in for six hot rinse cycles and a pair of balloon pants isn’t really what you’d call haute couture. Try just thinking back as far as high school, remember girls who played sports? Pretty or not, they weren’t allowed to look good. It was always men’s XL T-shirts and sweatpants with varsity soccer or volleyball plastered across the bum. This is just the way things have always been. Believe it or not, though, fashion and athletics are not as mutually exclusive as we’ve been led to believe.

Enter circa 1997, a brave woman named Linda Hipp decided to take a gamble on the idea that it just might be possible to make an outfit that a woman could wear both on the golf course and in public. And not just wear it, but look good too. Hipp formed a clothing line, now known as Lija, that took its inspiration from fashion, and its functionality from athletics. Unsurprisingly, the universe didn’t implode, and the idea was very well received. Thousands of women began showing up to lunch after a round of golf wearing the same thing, and looking good. Across golf courses, tennis courts, and high streets, jubilant cries could be heard echoing in unison: “We’re all in the bunker, but some of us are looking at the stars.”

Hipp’s gamble paid off and Lija is now a well recognized brand that offers a number of different fashionable athletic clothing lines. The brand is growing fast, so in order to accommodate and enable this growth, Lija commissioned Cowie and Fox to develop a web site and internet presence that would not only look beautiful, but also, would be a fully functioning E-Commerce site. It’s clean design and bold images hide the intricate machine that pumps out real time payment and complete inventory integration. It’s basically pretty awesome. Don’t believe us, you heartless skeptics? Listen to what Lija has to say and check out the site for yourself!

“I just wanted to say how much we all appreciate the creative and other work that you have done on our new e-Comm site. [...] Thank you again for pushing us in a more progressive direction on site design, and working so diligently on functionality. I know it has been a lot of work, and probably more than you or I anticipated going in, but it looks great and we are getting a lot of fantastic feedback. [...] I’m super pleased with where we are on it. Thanks again!”
Christine Jakovcic :: Director, Brand Management & Revenue Strategy

Your new wardrobe in only a click away ››

If you’re looking for a taste of European styled decadence and abandonment, Montreal is definitely the place to be this side of the pond. Amidst the beautiful architecture of past centuries and the rich cultural heritage, throbs the lively heart of Montreal that is very much grounded in the present. The fertile cultural soils have cultivated an arts scene that is one of the most important and unique in North America. With all that Montreal has to offer that feeds the mind, it definitely has no shortage in substance that feeds the body. Montreal has one of the best food scenes in the country. And as you can imagine, with this kind of competition, it isn’t easy to grab the attention of the market.

Despite their great reputation, Opus faced a daunting task when opening their newest property, Koko, right in the heart of Montreal. The 600 seat restaurant and bar needed to make sure that when it opened its doors, everyone knew that it was the place to be. Cowie and Fox’s long working relationship with Opus meant that there were no reservations about entrusting C&F with the responsibility of fully branding their swank new outlet.

Koko’s decor is really a manifestation of what makes Montreal such a hot spot. Clean, ultra-modern layout and furnishings are juxtaposed with old world flourishes and peeks of velveteen decadence to create an ambiance that is luxuriant and fresh. The brand package that Cowie and Fox put together is a personification of this. From the logo design to the tapestry of the website, you’ll find bright modern lights and crisp lines meeting unexpectedly with opulent accents and artistic flair, all of which are carefully combined to create the alluring sense of modern luxury that is Koko.

The success of the endeavour has been apparent by the media buzz and immediate popularity of Koko. Named by Condé Nast Traveller as Canada’s Hot Night in May 2009, Koko’s reputation is expanding well beyond the boroughs of Montreal and onto the international scene with its “avant-garde glamour”. Opus Hotels and Koko have become perfect examples of how boutique brands can, through clever and precise positioning, compete for global accolades. This is something that they are well aware of, and why they keep coming back to C&F:

“The Cowie and Fox work on KOKO is exceptional. Thank you all for, once again, putting your ‘heart and soul’ into the work you undertake for OPUS. You are formidable partners!”
John deC. Evans
President & CEO
Trilogy Properties Corporation

Click here to get a taste of Koko ››