Par Apparat Confection Créative

Par Apparat Confection Créative is an atelier specialized in stage costumes and uniforms. Located on St. Jean Street in Quebec City, the business dresses performers working at La Bordée, The Trident, Ex Machina and Cirque du Soleil as well as employees of institutions like the Grand Théâtre de Québec, the Musée de la civilisation and the École hôtelière de la Capitale. The workshop also creates period costumes for Parks Canada and custom-made outfits for individuals (wedding dresses, evening gowns, suits, etc.).

First Menswear Collection, 1991 © Christian Lacroix. Photo courtesy of Par Apparat

The atelier was founded under the name Par Apparat in 1986 by designer Line Bussière, make-up artist Klaude Roussel and set designer Luce Pelletier.

Initially dedicated to stage costumes, Par Apparat began making ready-to-wear menswear in the 1990s to compensate for the fact that theatres were slashing costume budgets.

The brand started with just shirts, then created full collections of high-end men’s clothing inspired by classic styles of the past. Par Apparat began selling its clothing at Montreal’s Revenge boutique in 1994, in addition to operating its own store in Quebec City from 1998 to 2000.

After winning a competition to design uniforms for Le Capitole, a Quebec City theatre/hotel/restaurant, Par Apparat began making uniforms for businesses and schools in the early 2000s. Some of the institutions the atelier has worked with are the Château Frontenac, the Québec City Convention Centre, the National Assembly and Collège Jesus-Marie. This market has become the company’s primary source of revenue. Luce Pelletier left the company around this time to pursue a career in set design.

In addition to her work as a designer and entrepreneur, Line Bussière began teaching fashion merchandising at Campus Notre-Dame-de-Foy in Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures in the Quebec City area, where she herself had been a student. In 2010 when she and Klaude Roussel decided to sell the business, Isabelle Roger and Marie Laflamme, two graduates of this program who had been working at the atelier since 1995 and 2002, respectively, took it over. The new owners then renamed it Par Apparat Confection Créative. As of 2018, most garments were produced internally with higher volume orders entrusted to local subcontractors.