Fashion
Power Lines: Some of Canada’s most successful fashion families gain their power from within
TNT Hazelton Lanes. Power couple Carrie Richmond and Arie Assaraf.
THE ASSARAFS
Known as arbiters of modern style, brothers Arie and Patrick Assaraf’s fashion story dates back to 1982, when Patrick, newly arrived to Toronto from Israel, started wholesaling menswear from his basement. Arie came to visit in 1988 and began working at a cousin’s Yonge Street womenswear store. In 1991, Arie and Carrie Richmond (then his girlfriend, now his wife) opened fashion emporium TNT. Carrie managed the boutique while Arie flew to Paris every six weeks to source hot new labels. (That same year, Patrick founded PYA Importer, which brought new international brands to Canada.) In 2001, Arie opened TNT Blu, a high-end denim store stocked with It brands such as Earl Jeans and 7 for All Mankind; it immediately took off. Now there are three TNT-branded stores—two in Toronto, one in Montreal—offering an ultra-curated selection of 300 luxe brands. Next up? A dedicated TNT shoe store and the introduction of “Voyage,” a year-round selection of jetset-chic products, including towels and bikinis. Patrick’s PYA Importer, meanwhile, has quietly grown into a multi-million-dollar empire, with labels such as Line Knitwear, Ted Baker and Earnest Sewn, the denim line he co-founded in 2004. “Patrick and I always bounce ideas off each other,” says Arie. When they’re not travelling, the two brothers meet every Saturday for lunch.
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