Living downtown: interview with Jean-Claude Poitras, fashion designer, teacher, author

Sometimes in life, we fall under the spell of a place. The resulting connection goes beyond the activity we carry out there, and deepens into a genuine heartfelt bond. Jean-Claude Poitras, a fashion designer from Montréal and proud resident of downtown, fondly remembers his experiences of living and working in the neighbourhood that captivated him and where he has remained. In an interview at the Restaurant Henri – Brasserie Française, the designer openly discusses his happy memories of downtown, which he used to explore as a child and where he established his life and career.

A story of family and of a calling

As a child, Jean-Claude already wanted to move there. He loved visiting downtown with his mother and grandmother. They were fashionable women who enjoyed shopping in the neighbourhood. He was enchanted by the store windows and dazzled by the beauty of the major labels on Sainte-Catherine Street. The designer remembers the Marshalls fabric store with fondness. It was like Ali Baba’s cave, and it gave him a love for beautiful fabrics and creative work.

For Jean-Claude, downtown has always been the perfect place, a place of discovery, of effervescence. There’s no doubt in his mind that this gateway to the world led him to his profession. The city’s iconic shop windows, both beautiful and bright, gave him a taste for fashion and mannequins. He landed his first job at the famed Eaton’s. In 1976 he lived one of his dreams and worked for Canada’s top manufacturer, established at the iconic Square Phillips.

Square Phillips, a key gateway

Jean-Claude has lived and breathed this public square for decades. Living just a few steps away, he crosses it almost daily, and the emotion attached to it has not waned with time. This is where he organized his first impromptu fashion show on the street, where he built his career, and where he gave many a rendezvous to his friends. For him, Square Phillips has always been THE gathering place, the essential springboard for exploring downtown. He is very fond of the place, its architecture, and its history. He loves sharing the square with loved ones and tells its story with passion.

Some iconic addresses continue to inspire him, like Brasserie Henri and the Birks Hotel. In his eyes, these establishments bring something unique to Montréal, anchoring it at once in history and in modernity. For this worldly man who has travelled extensively in Europe—and who admits to having picked up certain habits there—Brasserie Henri stands proudly among the best Parisian brasseries. “You feel good here, you can come for tea. It blends taste and style, which is a bit of a leitmotif for me in life. I feel completely at home here.” And the Birks Hotel symbolizes Montréal’s art de vivre. It’s the living embodiment of an inspiring memory, a place that successfully reinvents itself by embracing tradition and modernity.

Jean-Claude likes to watch people walk through the square and look up to admire the architecture. Over the years, he has discovered some of his favourite places and continues to be inspired by them.

Downtown: worldly and homely

For Jean-Claude Poitras, Square Phillips is like “an oasis of all the best and most beautiful things Montréal has to offer. Look at it from different angles, and you’ll see its many faces.” Because touring downtown is a bit like touring the world, one street at a time. Architecture, know-how, gastronomy: for the designer, who has lived downtown since the age of 22, downtown captures all the diversity and eclecticism that make the city unique. It’s a boundless source of inspiration for the well-travelled designer, who always returns to his roots.