She's not a first lady but she is Canada's style ambassador.
In a new interview with Canada's other style CEO, Jeanne Beker (via the Globe and Mail), Sophie Grégoire Trudeau explains why she's taken an interest in promoting Canadian fashion and what Canadian style means to her.
Since her husband was sworn in as prime minister in 2015, Grégoire Trudeau has stepped up her style game, wearing unique looks that are proudly Canadian. (Who could forget that aqua blue Aleks Susak jumpsuit or that chic purple pencil dress by Montreal label Éditions de Robes?)
Explaining why she decided to make it her mission to help put Canadian fashion on the world stage, Grégoire Trudeau says it all goes back to shopping local.
"As a consumer and a mom, I've always been interested in local products," she says. "It wasn't just something that came to me out of the blue, like 'Oh my God! I should encourage local talent!' But when my husband had his official swearing-in ceremony in Ottawa, it really came to me, 'Whoa! I should be wearing Canadian!'"
Grégoire Trudeau further explains that a couple months before Justin Trudeau's swearing-in, she had run into long-time friend, Jessica Mulroney, a stylist and the wife of Ben Mulroney.
"[Mulroney] said, 'If ever you need anything, just give me a call.' I remember calling her up and saying, 'I think I should be wearing Canadian [designs]. Do you have any contacts?'"
Admitting that, aside from Quebec designers, she wasn't familiar with Canadian labels, so she made a point of learning about and wearing more Canuck designers.
"The exploration and discoveries I've made in the past two years have been exponential," she says.
When my husband had his official swearing-in ceremony in Ottawa, it really came to me, 'Whoa! I should be wearing Canadian!'
Her experiments with Canadian designers have made her a popular figure in style circles, not only in Canada but around the world.
"I never expected the level of reaction and interest and curiosity," she says of the response she has received, "which is amazing because what I get on my side is letters from designers and artists and creators who are getting more light shed on their work, and that's what we want to do."
Some of the designers Grégoire Trudeau has put in the spotlight include the aforementioned Aleks Susak and Éditions De Robes, as well as The Saucy Milliner, Muriel Dombret, Lucian Matis and Mikael D.