Raunchy Upstart Has a Secret Weapon to Beat Canada Goose

Somewhere around winter 2013, everyone started wearing Canada Goose. The surge seemed to come out of nowhere: The brand’s sales rose 25 percent in the U.S. that year, then another 30 percent in 2014. Bewildered fashion observers wondered, “How’d this happen?” The sudden ubiquity was a surprise to everyone—except Ayal Twik. Or at least that’s what he insists. In 2010, Twik had invested in a small Canadian parka manufacturer he thought was about to explode. No, not that parka manufacturer. Twik invested in Moose Knuckles, the scrappy, sexy, rude answer to Canada Goose that’s ready for its own worldwide breakout. “They’re the trailblazers. They’re one of the reasons we exist,” Twik says. “But we’ve been able to create a completely different image.”

As a brand, Moose Knuckles is cheeky and hungry for attention. For instance, Twik—who became the company’s chief executive officer in 2014—never explicitly acknowledges that its name is slang for a man-specific wardrobe malfunction: He insists it’s a playful reference to Canada’s other favorite animal and also hockey fights. Although the company’s Canadian peers telegraph their rich corporate history (Goose) and brag about their tailoring (luxe, urbane Mackage), Moose Knuckles goes the way of tabloid controversy. Its ads throughout the years have included images of naked co-ed boxing, girls on trampolines, maple syrup as an aphrodisiac, and an overtly sexual double entendre: “Winter is coming. Are you?” These, in addition to its parkas’ slimmer, more fashion-oriented silhouette, have earned it a celebrity following that includes Ethan Hawke and tween icon Bella Thorne.