Créations Sirbain Canada Ltée

Créations Sirbain Canada Ltée was a Montreal-based brand of high-quality synthetic fur coats, hats and accessories. Jeanne Sirbain, a Frenchwoman who had worked for Chanel in Paris and represented the brand in Cuba during the 1940s, immigrated to Montreal shortly after World War II and founded the company in 1948.

An anti-fur advocate, she developed high-quality nylon imitation Persian lamb fabrics in grey, black and brown.

By the late 1950s, the Sirbain atelier on Parc Avenue employed 40 workers and sold upwards of 4000 coats annually in its stores throughout Quebec. Eventually, Sirbain expanded its range of imitation furs to include mink, seal, arctic fox, wolf and cheetah, amongst others.

In 1972, Jeanne Sirbain sold her company to Jacques Martineau and retired to Biarritz, France. Martineau, a passionate animal rights activist, bought the company as he felt Sirbain’s products were an effective way to fight the fur industry. Capitalizing on the growing anti-animal cruelty movement of the era, Sirbain’s trademarked slogan from 1982 onward was “a fur that does no harm to anyone.” The company also marketed its outerwear as an affordable alternative to real fur: Sirbain coats sold for between $400 and $800.

During the 1980s, Sirbain was one of Canada’s largest fake fur manufacturers.

Under Martineau’s direction, a sub-brand, Sirbain Style, was developed to offer fashion-forward novelty furs to attract a younger clientele. Martineau also opened several Sirbain boutiques in Ontario and, in 1983, launched the brand’s first American store at Rockefeller Center in New York.

By 1987, the company had run into financial difficulties and was bought by lawyer Jean-Yves Gagné. Finding high-end woven acrylic and modacrylic furs from Europe superior to and more stylish than domestic products, Gagné refocussed Sirbain on imports. The business ceased operations around 1994.