{"id":15659,"date":"2018-11-22T14:29:57","date_gmt":"2018-11-22T19:29:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sothebysrealty.ca\/insightblog\/?p=15659"},"modified":"2018-11-22T14:29:57","modified_gmt":"2018-11-22T19:29:57","slug":"canadian-designer-bojana-sentaler","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sothebysrealty.ca\/insightblog\/en\/2018\/11\/22\/canadian-designer-bojana-sentaler\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadian Designer Bojana Sentaler’s Royal Connections"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bojana Sentaler is a very, very busy person. So busy is she that it\u2019s taken nearly one month to schedule our interview. That\u2019s because since Christmas Day in 2017, this Canadian fashion designer\u2019s phone has been virtually ringing off the hook. The seminal moment was the day Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, wore a form-fitting alpaca coat of Sentaler\u2019s design \u2014 the long wide-collar wrap coat \u2014 while exiting a church service on Queen Elizabeth II\u2019s private country estate in Norfolk. It didn\u2019t take long for the camel-hued coat to sell out worldwide, which explains why Sentalar has been spending so much of her time keeping up with demand. But there\u2019s more to her eponymous label than the \u201cMeghan Markle effect.\u201d After all, Markle isn\u2019t the only royal spotted sporting a Sentaler design.<\/p>\n

International expansion, media headlines \u2014 no doubt, Sentaler is leading the pack in Canadian fashion right now. But what\u2019s perhaps surprising is that this 34-year-old designer has no formal training in the field where she\u2019s very much excelling. \u201cSince I was very little, I\u2019ve been sketching fashion,\u201d Sentaler says. \u201cI have always had a desire to create. It\u2019s not something learned in school.\u201d Nine years old when her family immigrated from Belgrade to Toronto, she is a graduate of York University\u2019s Schulich School of Business with a major in marketing and a minor in finance. Fashion wasn\u2019t on the curriculum, but chance encounters have a way of changing one\u2019s course in life.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"The label's shale grey bomber jacket for fall\/winter 2018 features sleeves crafted from cruelty-free Suri alpaca<\/a><\/div>\n

Take her first brush with destiny, which involved the iconic fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, long-standing creative director at Chanel and Fendi. Post-graduation, Sentaler had relocated to Dubai, where she worked in publishing. She was interviewing Lagerfeld about a development project he was working on. \u201cYou either have it or you don\u2019t,\u201d he told her. \u201cAnd if you do have it, go for it.\u201d Those words inspired Sentaler to act on her innate love of style and design.<\/p>\n

Then, a personal trip to Peru helped blueprint her fledgling brand\u2019s DNA. \u201cGrowing up in Canada, I have always been aware of how long and cold our winters are and, even more so, how difficult it was to find an elegant but warm winter coat to combat the weather,\u201d she says. \u201cWhen I discovered the alpaca fibre, I knew instantly it was the perfect material.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"Sales proceeds from Sentaler's alpaca hats and scarves for babies are donated to SickKids Foundation<\/a><\/div>\n

Alpacas are raised in the frigid temperatures of the high-altitude Andes, where their
\ncoats form microscopic air pockets, boosting thermal insulation. Conversely, when the temperature outside rises, those air pockets compress, providing a cooling effect. The result is a natural fabric ideal for three-season wear, which, unlike wool, also happens to be hypoallergenic.<\/p>\n

Sentaler coats have been made in Peru since the brand\u2019s inception in 2009. \u201cI\u2019ve been regularly visiting [that] beautiful country and have grown close to the families I work with there,\u201d says Sentaler. \u201cFor many who live in the Andes, supplying alpaca raw materials to fabric mills is their main source of income and I am proud to support them.\u201d Considered a sacred domesticated animal, the alpaca is protected by the Peruvian government. The animals are sheared for their fleece every two years and are not harmed in the process. Pelts for the fur on Sentaler\u2019s collars are sourced from alpacas that have died from natural causes, which is why the label declares itself cruelty-free and sustainable.<\/p>\n

The look and feel of the brand\u2019s coats, which take inspiration cues from the alpaca fibre itself, came about organically. \u201c[It\u2019s] a rare fabric that has a beautiful natural drape on the bias, [allowing it] to hug a woman\u2019s figure in a very flattering way,\u201d Sentaler explains. But the real stroke of style genius was, perhaps, in the visual codes created to make a Sentaler coat immediately recognizable even from a paparazzi distance. The signature ribbed sleeve detail has been spotted on Tatiana Maslany of Orphan Black fame and, more recently, on Scandal actresses Darby Stanchfield and Tessie Santiago. And there\u2019s no denying the impact that having a royal wear a Sentaler piece, which ranges in price from $1,000 to $2,200, has had on the label\u2019s bottom line.<\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s First Lady, Sophie Gr\u00e9goire Trudeau, first donned one of Sentaler\u2019s wrap coats, in white, for her husband\u2019s inauguration ceremony in 2015. Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, sported a similar coat in 2016 for her royal tour of British Columbia and Yukon. But it was Meghan Markle who cemented the brand\u2019s it-status by choosing to wear a Sentaler on the most magical of winter holidays, shortly after the announcement of her engagement to Prince Harry. \u201cThe effect was instantaneous,\u201d recalls Sentaler. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen an immense growth in global awareness, with consumers and media from all corners of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a consequence, however, that best-selling style falls repeatedly on back order, which
\nis why Sentaler now allows customers an opportunity to preorder from an upcoming collection in advance \u2014 a wait-list scenario of the less-frustrating kind. \u201cEach coat is produced with the highest level of care to provide consumers with the best product on the market,\u201d she says, referencing Sentaler\u2019s artisanal construction, which explains occasional back-order delays.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"Designer Bojana Sentaler<\/a><\/div>\n

Aside from being sold on its website, Sentaler is also available at Nordstrom stores across Canada, as well as at select Saks Fifth Avenue locations. Unsurprisingly, its worldwide presence keeps growing. In 2017 the luxe outerwear line expanded into the U.S., at Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue, and online at bergdorfgoodman.com. In fall 2018, luxury specialty retailer Lane Crawford started carrying it in Asia, and Sentaler anticipates announcing further expansion details soon.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, all bets are on London after Sentaler debuted at London Fashion Week with its fall\/winter 2018 collection. \u201cWe were welcomed with such immense support and love,\u201d notes Sentaler, who looks forward to returning to the city. There, the designer introduced a new piece \u2014 a \u201970s-style bomber with alpaca fur sleeves and vibrant hues, such as lilac, deep violet and \u201catomic cerise.\u201d Yet, knowing her customers\u2019 preference for clothing that\u2019s timeless rather than trendy, she was careful not to stray far from the brand\u2019s classically feminine silhouettes.<\/p>\n

Back at home in Canada, Sentaler is revisiting her other endeavours in recent years. In 2017 the designer launched SENTALER 4 SickKids, a partnership with Toronto\u2019s Hospital for Sick Children, wherein proceeds from sales of the label\u2019s ribbed alpaca hats and scarves for babies, priced from $225 to $275, are donated to SickKids Foundation. For this winter season, Sentaler is expanding its product range to include gloves, at $195 a pair.<\/p>\n

\u201cSupporting SickKids has always been extremely important to me, especially since becoming a mother,\u201d says Sentaler, who has two children herself. \u201cI could not be more thrilled to be a small part of [their rebuilding] effort.\u201d Kudos to a designer who hasn\u2019t let success get in the way of giving back.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

By Carlene Higgins  <\/span><\/em>–  This article originally appeared in INSIGHT: The Art of Living | Winter 2018<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Photography by: Mike Lewis;<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bojana Sentaler is a very, very busy person. So busy is she that it\u2019s taken nearly one month to schedule our interview. That\u2019s because since Christmas Day in 2017, this Canadian fashion designer\u2019s phone has been virtually ringing off the hook. The seminal moment was the day Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, wore a form-fitting alpaca coat of Sentaler\u2019s design \u2014 the long wide-collar wrap coat \u2014 while exiting a church service on Queen Elizabeth II\u2019s private country estate in Norfolk. It didn\u2019t take long for the camel-hued coat to sell out worldwide, which explains why Sentalar has been spending so much of her time keeping up with demand. But there\u2019s more to her eponymous label than the \u201cMeghan Markle effect.\u201d After all, Markle isn\u2019t the only royal spotted sporting a Sentaler design.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":15660,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[394],"tags":[409,1043,1060,1061,1062,1063],"class_list":["post-15659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insight-magazine","tag-insight-magazine","tag-insight-winter-2018","tag-sophie-gregoire-trudeau","tag-canadian-fashion-designer","tag-meghan-markle","tag-royal-style"],"yoast_head":"\nCanadian Designer Bojana Sentaler's Royal Connections - Insight Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"From Sophie Gr\u00e9goire Trudeau to Meghan Markle, Canadian designer Bojana Sentaler's label has been picked up by royal fashionistas.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sothebysrealty.ca\/insightblog\/en\/2018\/11\/22\/canadian-designer-bojana-sentaler\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Canadian Designer Bojana Sentaler's Royal Connections - 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