Canada Goose

Nomad

Although Canada Goose is well known all over the world as the leader in extreme weather protection, it is a new player on the scene when it comes to the spring season fashion. As a temperate climate brand, awareness is low. The market is currently seeing a shift in perceptions and consumer behavior as the line between fashion and function becomes more blurred.This territory of cross-pollination between fashion and function is Canada Goose’s opportunity to stake their claim, and take their rightful position in the minds of consumers as the undisputed leader in all-season, all-condition outerwear.The question was: How do we communicate this mission and new position to a wider customer base and the world at large?

The appetite for Canada Goose products in Asian markets is growing at an exponential rate, particularly in fashion-conscious nations like Japan and China. To satisfy this demand, Canada Goose partnered with GORE-TEX to launch the 'Nomad' line which celebrates and embraces the unpredictability of spring rain.


Born in Japan and inspired by the nation's rich culture, the campaign functions as a love letter to its people. We collaborated with two Japanese artists, acoustic designer Kouichi Okamoto and calligraphy artist Aoi Yamaguchi, to bring authenticity to the product by telling real stories of real people. The campaign is a celebration of rain, its life-giving properties and how it has inspired art and creation throughout Japan's history.


By marrying the cutting-edge technology of the products with the symbolic relationship Japanese culture has with the outdoors —spring rain specifically, our goal was to achieve function-first positioning in the minds of the consumers.

“Rain is one of the familiar phenomena that is felt by all the body’s senses” muses Okamoto in the film. To do justice to rain's sense-engulfing qualities, we crafted a multi-sensory 360 campaign experience in line with Okamoto-san’s words.

Through film, music, imagery, scent, retail theater, and art installation, we showcased the unparalleled technical and functional prowess of Canada Goose while allowing the world the opportunity to see, feel, smell, move and interact with every aspect of the brand experience. The outcome? A truly immersive celebration of nature, art, and the human condition.

Okamoto is a product designer and sound producer who has been releasing his sounds on the Dutch techno label “X-Trax” since 1997. In 2006, alongside co-conspirators Ayako Nakanishi and Yuichi Yamaguchi he founded Kyouei Design, a design and manufacturing company which specializes in crafting groundbreaking experiential works. His creations have been exhibited in Japan and abroad (SF MoMA, Brazil, Israel, V&A Museum)

Aoi Yamaguchi began her calligraphy career at age 6, training under the watchful eye of master Zuiho Sato. Her works juxtapose traditional Eastern classical culture with contemporary artistic expressions. Through her performances, Yamaguchi transforms the two-dimensional art of Japanese calligraphy into an entirely full-body physical manifestation.

For this project, she created two large-scale Japanese characters, which together represent “spring rain.” She was inspired by "the long rainy days in the early spring air: long-lasting but not relentless, gentle." Through wide, open strokes, Yamaguchi translated the essence of spring rain into her calligraphy; she explains, “I wanted to symbolize the raindrops of regeneration falling gently straight from the sky.”

We shot the film in Wakayama prefecture with sound and product designer, artist, and music producer Kouichi Okamoto and on the streets of Tokyo with calligraphy artist Aoi Yamaguchi. The film tells the story of two unique artists inspired by the rain and its three core elements: Atmosphere, earth, and water.

We traveled across the ancient pilgrimage route of Kumano Kodo, where for over millennia people from across the world have made the arduous journey. Sound designer Kouichi Okamoto hunted and gathered the aural manifestation of the elements, capturing the essence of rain in its purest form. Meanwhile, calligraphy artist Aoi Yamaguchi traversed the dense urban jungle of Tokyo. Drawing inspiration from her surroundings she crafts her shodo performance, an act deeply rooted in nature and inspired by the seasons. Her performance scenes were shot in studio with an elaborate rain system custom fitted for the occasion.

We reimagined the interior of Canada Goose's Sendagaya flagship store to showcase the GORE-TEX Nomad Capsule Collection as an immersive art installation. Our design focused on engaging the senses, highlighting the subtle elements of rain, spring, and Wakayama's lush forests.

This global collaboration brought together Japanese, American, and European artists, each contributing unique pieces to the installation. Botanical window displays and custom room scents evoked Wakayama's forests, while an aural backdrop composed by Okamoto completed the sensory landscape. Visual impact was achieved through an oversized lightbox image and a four-meter screen displaying the campaign film, capturing the attention of passersby.

We approached the space as an art gallery, placing artist name cards throughout to explain each creator's unique contribution. This thoughtful curation transformed the retail environment into a multi-sensory journey, allowing visitors to fully immerse themselves in the essence of Japan and the campaign's vision.

The result was a captivating retail theater experience that transcended traditional shopping, offering guests a deep, sensory connection to both the product and its cultural context.

In Japanese, there are over 50 words for rain, a linguistic richness that inspired our exploration of sound, rain, ink, and Japanese culture. We brought this concept to life at Milan Design Week, creating an immersive installation in collaboration with Okamoto.

Set in the courtyard of a 19th-century building in Zone Tortona, our installation offered visitors a multi-sensory journey. Guests entered through a mirror tunnel lined with three-meter LCD screens showcasing the Nomad hero film. This led them to the courtyard, where Okamoto's bespoke, rain-inspired soundscape filled the air.

Throughout the space, we placed wooden buckets filled with water. Visitors were encouraged to splash the water against the walls, revealing hidden Japanese kanji characters beneath layers of hydrochromatic ink. We enhanced this experience with a custom web AR app, allowing guests to uncover the wet kanji by holding their phone screens up to the wall.

The event was a resounding success, attracting over 15,000 visitors and garnering attention from both local and international media. Our installation not only showcased the intricate relationship between Japanese culture and rain but also offered an interactive, technologically enhanced experience that bridged traditional concepts with modern design.