This summer, Osborne Village mainstay Local Shop Awesome closed up its doors, but owner Christopher Gottzman, along with pals Nathan Alexander and Jordan Stephensen, gave it a new look for fall as Twillhound.

With a focus on menswear, custom tailoring and continuing with Local Shop Awesome’s custom tees, it’s your one-stop shop for all things street style in Winnipeg.

“Winnipeg is very reserved in fashion and fashion is all about how you express yourself and individuality,” Alexander, 27, says. “The clothes don’t just form to your body, you have to wear them with confidence and style. So finding your own style and your own individuality is part of the larger idea of fashion.”

Alexander notes that it isn’t just some Winnipeggers that are reserved, it’s most men in general.

“Men feel really reserved in wearing different things,” he says. “A longer sweater or a deeper cut on the neck or whatever it might be really is a challenge for a lot of guys to experiment with.”

Though it would be simpler to just set up an online shop (which there is at twillhound.com) it’s also important to the Twillhound crew that customers have a chance to come in and try things on.

“When you buy something online you’re always a little bit skeptical,” he says. “We wanted to have a place where people could come in and see how stuff fits.”

Another plus to having a shop is that custom orders with a quick turnaround (about a week) are no problem.

“We make and manufacture everything in Winnipeg, which is a big deal for us,” Alexander, who counts the Staple Pigeon and Fear of God lines and such designers as Nick Wooster and Zane Lowe as influences, says. “Everything is done locally. Everything in the store can be customized. When somebody comes in and they like this pair of pants but that pattern better, we can make that for them.”

Alexander also assures that a Lookbook preview of Twillhound’s fall looks is on the way, and that the shop will be delivering seasonal lines on the regular.

“We are here and definitely taking it day by day, but we’re gonna be releasing collections every quarter,” he says. “We have the chance to help people find themselves, for us that’s huge.”

Published in Volume 68, Number 6 of The Uniter (October 10, 2013)