This Angsty Fashion Film Will Make You Reconsider the Meaning of the Holidays

Kit and Ace, the Canadian apparel brand, eschews festive schmaltz this year for a thought-provoking, angsty holiday fashion film that touches on how stressful the season can be.

Created in-house, and inspired partly by the Robert Frost poem "Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening," the film centers on a young couple struggling with their relationship as they approach the holiday season.

It's dark and cold, they're away from family and friends and trying to forge their own holiday traditions. The young man thinks back to Christmas past, as nostalgic '70s-style clips are interspersed with footage of him brooding outdoorsily in the beautiful but bleak Canadian landscape. The narrative touches on the value of taking time to pause during the holidays and the story ends on a more optimistic note.

According to statement from Kit and Ace, which was founded in 2014 by Shannon Wilson, former lead designer of Lululemon Athletica, the creative team "wanted to share a genuine acknowledgement that this is a special but chaotic time of year, and that we believe in practicing mindfulness to maintain peace."

We think it's achieved it, and the work certainly stands out as unusual among the holiday crowd.