Parasuco
Encyclopedia
Clothing
Clothing refers to any covering for the human body that is worn. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic and is a feature of nearly all human societies...
company, best known for its denim
Denim
Denim is a rugged cotton twill textile, in which the weft passes under two or more warp threads. This produces the familiar diagonal ribbing identifiable on the reverse of the fabric, which distinguishes denim from cotton duck. Denim has been in American usage since the late 18th century...
jeans
Jeans
Jeans are trousers made from denim. Some of the earliest American blue jeans were made by Jacob Davis, Calvin Rogers, and Levi Strauss in 1873. Starting in the 1950s, jeans, originally designed for cowboys, became popular among teenagers. Historic brands include Levi's, Lee, and Wrangler...
. Based in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, the company is famous for its provocative advertising and fit on jeans. The company is best known for its denim clothing, but also makes shirts, casual pants, dresses, and sweaters.
Parasuco History
Catching on to the rising popularity of faded jeans, Salvatore Parasuco experimented with the different types of denim available and proceeded to pre-wash them in his family’s domestic washing machine. Trial and error experimentation soon led to the much sought after, perfected shade of indigo denim lovers were after. Once the process was completed, Salvatore Parasuco would let his creations hang-dry on the family’s outdoor clothesline. Careful and precise record-keeping methods ensured reproducible and profitable results. At first using his high-school locker as a make-shift boutique to sell his denim creations, Salvatore Parasuco went on to open his first retail outlet “Pour les Deux” at age 19.Perfecting his “Denimistry” (mastery of denim) while using his boutique as a launch pad for technical innovations and new denim developments. Salvatore Parasuco eventually forged his own denim brand, Santana Jeans in 1975. Santana Jeans introduced key trends to the market like acid-wash, stretch denim, black over dye and denim sandblast. By then, Salvatore Parasuco had taken the position as an industry leader on innovative design, new fabrics, technological developments and domestic trade concerns.
The Parasuco brand is aimed at a new generation of fashion forward consumers through a youthful brand image, an accessible collection offering exceptional, individual style. Parasuco is recognized as one of the world’s best and most successful denim brands, emblematic of a new lifestyle oriented way of life and one of the most creative and beloved on the planet. Parasuco has been extensively featured in several trade publications such as Sportswear International, WEAR Magazine and the WGSN website. The brand has gathered an impressive following of young at heart individuals, by offering them an alternative to classic luxury products. From Young Hollywood to Rock Royalty, socialites to TV personalities, Parasuco has dressed numerous celebrities locally and internationally: Jon Bon Jovi, Chris Daughtry, Tyra Banks, Jessica Alba, Halle Berry, Debra Messing, Céline Dion, Tommy Lee, Ne-Yo and Nick Carter to name a few.
In 1988, Santana Jeans rebranded itself under the Parasuco Jeans Inc. label and entered first the United States market followed by Europe. Sensing the importance that effective brand-building could bring to future growth, Parasuco Jeans Inc. trademarked its back-pocket stitch and developed its own distinctive logo, The Chimera. A mysterious mythological figure of Etruscan origin, The Chimera joins a lion’s body, to a goat’s head and neck protruding from its back and a serpent’s tail. A mythical fantasy of courageous, vivacious and flamboyant spirit; the symbol of the chimera can be traced back to Arezzo, Italy during the 5th century B.C., and is believed by many to be emblematic of Tuscan pride.
Parasuco Jeans Inc. is one of the leading denim brands in the world today with over 230 direct employees. It designs, manufactures, distributes and retails fashion products including apparel and accessories under the Parasuco Denim Legend brand.
Parasuco Timeline
- 1957: The Parasuco family immigrates to Montreal, Canada from Sicily.
- 1966-1970: Salvatore Parasuco begins experimenting with different types of washes in his family laundry room and starts selling individual jeans out of his high school locker.
- 1971: Opening of the first boutique, offering commercially pre-washed jeans for the first time in Canada.
- 1975: Salvatore Parasuco founds Santana Jeans Inc. in Montreal, Canada.
- 1976: Santana Jeans is the first brand to introduce Stretch Denim to the market.
- 1980: Santana Jeans introduces Stone Washed denim.
- 1986: Santana Jeans introduces Sand Blasted denim.
- 1988: Santana Jeans expands to the United States and becomes Parasuco Jeans. Inc.
- 1995: The new Parasuco Jeans Inc. headquarters are built in Montreal’s Garment District.
- 1997: Parasuco Jeans Inc. opens its first flagship store in Montreal, Canada.
- 2001-2002: Parasuco Jeans roll-out. Flagship stores open in Quebec City, Laval, Pointe Claire, Mississauga and Niagara Falls, Ontario (Canada).
Parasuco Jeans Inc. creates its first license for the European luxury market.
- 2005: Parasuco Jeans Inc. opens a flagship store in Toronto, Canada.
- 2006: Parasuco Jeans Inc. opens a flagship store in New York City, USA.
- 2007: Parasuco Jeans Inc. opens a flagship store in Vancouver, Canada.
- 2008: Parasuco Jeans Inc. opens an outlet store in St-Sauveur, Canada.
- 2010: Parasuco Jeans Inc. celebrates it’s 35th anniversary.
- 2010: Parasuco Jeans Inc. closes Vancouver flagship store.
Parasuco Boutiques
Downtown MontrealDowntown Montreal
Downtown Montreal is the central business district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is nearly enitirely located at the southern most slope of Mount Royal and is approximately bounded by Sherbrooke Street to the north, Papineau Avenue to the east, Guy Street or until Shaughnessy Village to the west,...
1414 Rue Crescent Montreal, Quebec Canada H3G 2B6 T.(514) 284.2288 F.(514) 284.0841
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- store was once an Eastern Townships BankEastern Townships BankEastern Townships Bank was founded in 1859 by Colonel Benjamin Pomroy . It was the first financial institution in the south-east of Quebec, an area known as the Eastern Townships, and issued its own banknotes....
branch and later belonging to Canadian Bank of CommerceCanadian Bank of CommerceThe Canadian Bank of Commerce was a Canadian bank cofounded in 1867 by William McMaster. The Canadian Bank of Commerce opened in Toronto with a charter in 1866 that it purchased from the defunct Bank of Canada, which folded in 1858....
after 1912 (now CIBC).
- store was once an Eastern Townships Bank
Fairview Pointe-Claire
Fairview Pointe-Claire
Fairview Pointe-Claire, also called Fairview Centre , is one of the biggest super regional shopping malls on the island of Montreal with about spread on two levels of shopping space...
6801 Route Transcanadienne Local J-019, Pointe-Claire Quebec Canada H9R 5J2 T.(514) 694.8782 F.(514) 694.9619
Carrefour Laval
Carrefour Laval
Carrefour Laval is a super regional mall located in Laval, Quebec, Canada at the intersection of the Laurentian Highway and Laval Freeway...
3035 Boul. Le Carrefour Local T-013, Laval, Quebec Canada H7T 1C8 T.(450) 688.3268 F.(450) 688.4631
Place Ste-Foy 2452 Boul. Laurier Local G-34A, Ste-Foy, Quebec Canada G1V 2L1 T.(418) 657.8880 F.(418) 657.1831
Square One Shopping Centre
Square One Shopping Centre
Square One Shopping Centre is a shopping mall located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the largest shopping malls in Canada, with over 1.6 million square feet of retail space and more than 360 stores and services...
100 City Center Dr. Local 2-412, Mississauga,Ontario Canada L5B 2C9 T.(905) 281.8868 F.(905) 281.0788
Yorkdale Shopping Centre
Yorkdale Shopping Centre
Yorkdale Shopping Centre is a large shopping mall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It contains over 250 stores and is located in the community of Downsview, in North York. It is the fifth largest shopping mall in Canada and also enjoys the highest sales per square foot of any mall in Canada, with...
3401 Dufferin St. Local 231, Toronto, Ontario Canada M6A 3A1 T.(416) 782.8588 F.(416) 782.1588
Parasuco Outlets
Canada One Factory Outlet 7500 Lundy's Lane, Local C5-C7, Niagara Falls, Ontario Canada L2H 1G8 T.(905) 357.0388 F.(905) 357.6153 - now closedLes Factoreries St-Sauveur 100 Rue Guindon Local-L, St-Sauveur, Quebec Canada J0R 1R6 T. (450) 227.8188 F. (450) 227.8882
Famous people wearing Parasuco
Celebrities that have modeled for Parasuco include Jessica AlbaJessica Alba
Jessica Marie Alba is an American television and film actress. She began her television and movie appearances at age 13 in Camp Nowhere and The Secret World of Alex Mack . Alba rose to prominence as the lead actress in the television series Dark Angel...
, Ashanti
Ashanti (singer)
Ashanti Shequoiya Douglas is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer, actress, and model. She rose to fame in the early 2000s. Ashanti is most famous for her eponymous debut album, which featured the hit song "Foolish", and sold over 503,000 copies in its first week of release...
, Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller...
, Hilary Duff
Hilary Duff
Hilary Erhard Duff is an American actress, singer-songwriter, entrepreneur, and author. After working in local theater plays and television commercials in her childhood, she achieved fame playing the title role in the Disney Channel television series Lizzie McGuire. She also reprised her role in...
, Halle Berry
Halle Berry
Halle Berry is an American actress and a former fashion model. Berry received an Emmy, Golden Globe, SAG, and an NAACP Image Award for Introducing Dorothy Dandridge and won an Academy Award for Best Actress and was nominated for a BAFTA Award in 2001 for her performance in Monster's Ball, becoming...
, Debra Messing
Debra Messing
Debra Lynn Messing is an American actress, voice artist, and comedienne. She is perhaps best known for her role as Grace Adler in the NBC sitcom Will & Grace and as Molly Kagan in the mini-series The Starter Wife....
, Céline Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
, Brittany Murphy
Brittany Murphy
Brittany Anne Murphy-Monjack , known professionally as Brittany Murphy, was an American actress and singer. She starred in films such as Clueless, Just Married, Girl Interrupted, Spun, 8 Mile, Uptown Girls, Sin City, Happy Feet, and Riding in Cars with Boys...
, Bai Ling
Bai Ling
Bai Ling is a Chinese actress known for her work in films such as The Crow, Red Corner and Wild Wild West, and in TV series such as Entourage and Lost. In 2011 she appeared in the fifth season of the VH1 reality television series Celebrity Rehab with Dr...
, Sean Paul
Sean Paul
Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques , who performs under stage name Sean Paul, is a Jamaican pop rap and reggae singer.-1973–1996: Early life:...
, Kate Hudson
Kate Hudson
Kate Garry Hudson is an American actress. She came to prominence in 2001 after winning a Golden Globe and receiving several nominations, including a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, for her role in Almost Famous. She then starred in the hit film How to Lose a Guy in 10...
and Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...
.