How Montreal men’s underwear brand the House of Harry George took root in Cirque du Soleil
The House of Harry George may soon be a major player in the men’s underwear market, having launched a line of undergarments that’s racking up testimonials as the only drawers their clients will ever wear going forward. But the proudly local company’s story began in the same unlikely place where a number of Montreal stories begin: the circus.
“I was a Cirque du Soleil performer, performing around the world in front of millions of people, and whilst being at the top of my game in that realm, there was a problematic area — every single day, every performance, every time, it was like lights, camera, action: I had problems with my underwear,” says the company’s founder, Harry George Owen. “I was battling for at least two or three years whilst on stage, going to the wardrobe department and saying, ‘Can we fix this?’”
The Welsh-born gymnast transitioned from the world of international competitive gymnastics to aligning with Cirque du Soleil in 2016 for their productions of Volta and Totem, developing an obsession with Cirque’s costuming magic, as well as one outstanding wardrobe flaw.
“One minute, I’m in some tight multicoloured costume with 50 different pieces attached to it, the next I’m in some shiny blue sequin hotpants, the next minute I’m dressed up as a frog. All of these different costumes had so much detail in them that I kind of got obsessed — like, how does the fabric move so well in this direction? How does this one make me sweat more? Why does this one make me feel great?”
Owen became determined to solve the underwear problem — one that extended beyond the realm of circus performers and athletes. Not only did he find that there were no workable underwear on the market suited to frequent physical contortions, there weren’t even boxers or briefs that were comfortable enough for long flights or sedentary work, for gym training or commuting to work. During his final Cirque tour in 2019, Owen bought a sewing machine and five metres of fabric and created the first pair of Harry George underwear right there in his San Francisco hotel room.
“I started learning what a first stitch was,” he explains. “I sewed two pieces of fabric together and started testing them, pulling the fabrics apart. I drew a little pattern, did the whole works, and Harry George underwear was born. I had no waistband on it, the compartments were terrible, but I put it on and thought, ‘Wow, this is the best underwear ever.’”
After over a year of research and development, Owen made the first iteration of Harry George underwear available on Spotify. His old friend Will Chalker — a British model who’s worked with brands ranging from Gucci and Dolce & Gabbana to Zara and Gap — bought 10 pairs, becoming an early adopter and fan of the brand, and someone whose enthusiasm drove Owen to push himself harder — hard enough to eventually hire Chalker to be the face of the company.
“He followed me through my sporting career, I followed him through his modelling career, we kept in contact throughout the years. I’d congratulate him when I’d see him on a billboard in an airport I was travelling through with Cirque du Soleil,” Owen explains. “He’s attested (to the product’s quality) since the moment ‘go,’ saying, ‘I love it, it’s all I wear! It’s a great product, I’m really happy you brought it out.’
“But I wasn’t entirely happy with that first version, so I constantly tried to tweak it aesthetically. The feel, the look — it was very important, especially enough that he could see the improvement, to be able to put his body and face on it. And that was ultimately the biggest high that I’ve had out of it. Will Chalker’s blessing was definitely something that spurred me on to really attack it and stick with it. Especially as somebody who pretty much came from nowhere in the fashion world, to create a product that a man who has modelled with every brand in the world has endorsed.”
The House of Harry George is now selling the boxer brief, boxer trunk and long boxer for between $45 and $55 (online and at Maison Alltrueist in Royalmount), hitting that middle-range to upscale price point that places the product up there between some of Owen’s main influences, like Ron Dorff, CDLP, Derek Rose, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and Tom Ford. With the upcoming addition of longjohns, t-shirts and jock straps, the complete line is something Owen calls “the turn-key solution to one’s underwear drawer.”
This past July, Chalker flew into Montreal to shoot the campaign photos and footage that were used to officially launch the brand online late last month — a culmination of four years of effort. Plans are underway to bring the Harry George line, with its sleek copper boxes and art deco-inspired font, to major retailers in North America in the new year, an endeavour to be launched with a tour of pop-up events, beginning with one in Montreal at Place Ville-Marie, opening on Dec. 6. Though Owen himself is featured telling his story in many of his brand’s promotional videos, Chalker is the primary face (and body) of the House of Harry George.
“The timing all worked out this year for him to be at the forefront of Harry George, to launch this out into the world properly. He’s got the right face for it — he’s a British guy, and we have a James Bond feel to the brand. He’s 44 years old now, and that is a target market of ours. He does look as a model would, he takes care of himself. This is something that we highly value with the brand — he likes a routine, he’s somebody that really dives into self-care, and underwear is a big part of that.”
