Melbourne’s Kanat family has a long history of working in the city's rag trade – 92 years to be exact.
It all began with patriarch Wolf Kanat, who arrived in Australia as a teenager, fleeing persecution back home in Belarus.
“He came from a totalitarian regime and he fled to Australia for survival,” explains Jonathan Kanat, one of Wolf’s four grandsons.
In 1926, Wolf set up a tailoring business. Nearly a century later, it’s morphed into a much larger business called Flair Industries, which is still family-run.
Wolf Kanat fled to Australia as a teenager. Source: Supplied
Flair makes and distributes a number of menswear brands, but their newest label is closest to their hearts.
Named after their grandfather, Wolf Kanat the label seeks to inject a cheeky stylishness into the men’s retail landscape.
“Wolf was a very stylish man, he was quite a kooky guy, a real character,” recalls Paul, another of Wolf’s four grandsons.
Paul and Jonathan Kanat, two of the four Kanat brothers. Source: Supplied
“Essentially five years ago, we decided to reinvigorate our business, put more passion and life into what we were doing. So we actually came up with this idea of Wolf Kanat the brand, that way we could draw on our heritage and embellish it with all the aspects of Wolf that were exciting and interesting, whether it’s the card playing or the horses or love of travel.”
The result is a product unique amongst its menswear competitors.
The label’s suits, for example, are lined with the ace of spades, a nod to Wolf’s love of card playing.
The collars feature a striking blue fabric, recalling the Baltic Sea of his homeland.
Even a boot sole features a design of the Trans-Siberian Railway, a tribute to Wolf’s lifelong (and sadly unrealised) dream of one day travelling on the famed train line.
“Men’s retail today is challenging the world over,” says Jonathan. “It’s over-shopped. So for us to launch in a challenging market, we have to be something that’s special and unique.”
A suit displayed in Wolf Kanat's flagship Sydney store. Source: Supplied
“I think one of our competitive advantages is that our team is fundamentally made up of four brothers who are on the same page,” Paul adds.
“Because Wolf Kanat was so strong and his DNA is so powerful, it's really easy to represent him in a brand for us. The upside of it is, it’s economically or commercially better [to have a strong brand identity] as well.”
Wolf Kanat the brand is now sold through Myer, and through their first standalone store in Sydney. It’s the result of years of planning and hard work.
“Wolf had this saying, the harder you work the luckier you are - and what he was trying to say was, people who everyone thinks are lucky - it’s actually off the back of hard work.”
Something the family doesn’t shy away from.
Watch this story at the top of the page, or catch the full episode on SBS On Demand.
