If there’s one thing emblematic of Toronto fashion, it’s the undeniable attraction to black clothing. Canadian design duo, Gonzalo de Cárdenas and Miah Mills of Blanc de Noir are the conduits for timeless pieces that offer versatility. With each piece named after iconic Toronto neighbourhoods, like the Sherbourne Cowl scarf and the Bathurst Clutch, each accessory is an ode to The 6. Minimalist designs composed of soft leather and knit is intentionally adrogynous to be worn by men and women.

I arranged to meet with the designers at their work space, currently out of de Cárdenas’ home downtown in the Yonge and Bloor area. It was a blustery winter day and they welcomed me with hot tea and fresh espresso. We sat around the living room like old friends talking about they’re newest import—a knitwear collection made from soft alpaca wool. The last two winters have been exceptionally icy, and it was this that motivated the designers to expand into knitwear.

Photos kindly provided by Blanc de Noir – Roxborough Hood, $280

It was an obvious transition for the design duo, who sourced the wool in de Cárdenas’ home country of Peru. There, they formed a community of women, some of who are cancer survivors, that hand-knit the scarves together in groups. It helps the women support their families and allows them to share their experiences with each other. This collaboration provides Blanc de Noir with exceptional quality knitwear, like the Wellesley Infinity Scarf—a dense circular scarf woven with alpaca and lambskin—making it durable, as well as providing substantial warmth. Some consumers may suffer from wool allergies, but luckily the duo thought of that. “Alpaca is hypoallergenic because it doesn’t have the lanolin (a fatty substance secreted from a sheep’s skin glands) that sheep’s wool does. So people that have wool allergies are typically not allergic to Alpaca wool,” said Mills.

Cumberland Clutch, $180

With an ethical edge, Blanc de Noir’s designs take a modern approach to commonly used disposable items like paper and plastic bags. They’ve created leather silhouettes to replace these every day items and transformed them into something darlingly chic. The Cumberland Clutch made in soft black leather rolls down just as a paper bag lunch would, the Bloor Tote is boxy with handles like a re-usable shopping bag and the Spadina Shopper, in slouchy black leather, resembles a plastic bag. “I felt that the fashion industry . . . something I was very good at, was something that was designed to be disposable. So I wanted to make things that would get better with age—not get worse with age—would last forever and be timeless,” said Mills. In essence, the designs are practical and simplistic—taking a Torontonian’s style from day to night.

Spadina Shopper, $280

Their footwear is all handcrafted in Lima, Peru and made in European sizes that range from 36 to 46 EUR to fit both men and women. The designs no doubt have a Peruvian flare and are 100 per cent leather. The designers launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the production of their footwear and successfully exceeded their goal in 15 days by nearly $7,000. The shoes are available online for pre-sale (with a 20 per cent discount until October 1, 2015!) and being shipped out in October.

Footwear from left to right: Roncesvalles Shoe, $220, Dundas Boot, $240, Landsdowne Boot, $260

It is no surprise that the cornerstone of the brands success is the design’s minimalism that offers gender neutrality—allowing the wearer to dictate their desired style. “When you start adding too many elements then you start identifying it as masculine and feminine, so we had to remove everything so it would appeal to both. That’s how we ended up being so minimal,” said de Cárdenas.

Blanc de Noir was named after the designer’s drink of choice, champagne, but also translates to, the light of darkness, that has a deeper meaning for the pair.

The designer’s are currently working on their next collection which will be inspired by de Cárdenas home town, Lima, Peru’s capital. The new collection will take on a Peruvian feel—not limiting the palate to dark shades, but daring to use bold colours and prints symbolic of the city’s culture. “Every collection we’re going to do, we’re going to go to a different city and use local craftspeople,” said Mills.

Blanc de Noir is available for purchase on their website as well as the following select stores in Toronto: Model Citizen, 279 Augusta Ave., The Men’s Room, 465 Church St. and ELlé & CO., 1166 Eglington Ave. W in Forest Hill. Also available at Lazaro SoHo, 457 Broome St., in New York.

Watch this video from Blanc de Noir’s successful Kickstarter campaign if you want to hear more!