Turbulence

Turbulence was a Montreal brand of men’s ready-to-wear sold in the 1980s and 1990s. Founded by designer Simon Sebag, the label was known for revitalizing the traditional business suit by deconstructing it, making it softer, and enhancing it with exotic touches of colour or texture. By the late 1990s, Sebag’s company, Fulgurant Inc., was recording nearly $6 million in annual sales. Sold in Canada and the United States, the clothing was designed in the company’s Chabanel Street headquarters in Montreal’s fashion district, and produced by local subcontractors.

A native of Morocco, Simon Sebag came to Canada in 1966. After studying finance at university, he began his career as an accountant before launching his men’s clothing brand in 1984.

Commercially successful, he earned several awards and honours, including the 1992 Griffe d’or for menswear designer of the year. In 1995, he was elected president of the Association professionnelle des designers de mode du Québec.

In the year 2000, Montréal Mode, a subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, purchased Sebag’s company, generating hopes that the label would expand, but nothing came of it and the company was removed from the Quebec enterprise register in 2001.