Montreal Exclusive - Super Sexy Selvedge

Mar 2, 2026

By Geneviève Boucher

Some landmarks become part of a city’s shared memory. For those of us who grew up in Montreal, the neon rooftop sign of Club Super Sexe on Sainte-Catherine Street West was one of them. The Super Sexy Selvedge is a 14oz Japanese black slub selvedge denim that documents that era of the downtown skyline through fabric, trim, and construction. Woven in Japan and cut and sewn in Canada, it situates a specific Montreal landmark within our ongoing material practice.

Sin City

During the mid-20th century, Montreal developed an international reputation for its nightlife concentrated along Sainte-Catherine Street West. Media coverage during this period frequently referred to the city as “Sin City,” reflecting its permissive nightlife culture relative to other North American centers. Neon signage defined the streetscape, contributing to a continuous illuminated commercial façade across several blocks.

Club Super Sexe opened in 1978 at 696 Sainte-Catherine Street West. The venue became identifiable by its rooftop neon installation depicting female superhero figures in red capes, black bikinis, and high heels. The sign remained illuminated above the street for nearly four decades and became a fixed visual reference within downtown Montreal.

The club closed in January 2017. On October 30, 2021, a four-alarm fire destroyed the vacant building, resulting in the loss of the original neon installation. Its removal marked the disappearance of a long-standing element of Montreal’s nightlife skyline.

The fleur-de-lys printed inside the pocket bags references Quebec’s provincial emblem, formally adopted on the Quebec flag in 1948 and derived from French heraldic tradition.

Fabric and Construction

The Super Sexy Selvedge is a 14oz Japanese selvedge denim woven from 100% cotton yarns.

The black warp yarns are spun with irregular thickness, creating vertical variation across the fabric surface. The white weft yarns remain visible on the interior and at abrasion points. The red and white selvedge edge references the high-contrast color pairing common to neon signage historically present along Sainte-Catherine Street.

Details and Finishing

Each pair features a leather patch produced from moose hide sourced from northern Quebec. Moose leather contains a looser fiber structure than bovine hide, resulting in a softer hand and reduced emboss retention after repeated washing. The patch is embossed with artwork referencing the historic Sainte-Catherine Street signage.

Pocket bags are printed with a fleur-de-lys motif as a provincial marker. The jeans follow a standard five-pocket configuration with selvedge outseams and are constructed in Canada.