Fashion trailblazer Alan Cherry remembered for his unique talents

Alan Cherry. TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO

A man of immense talents, dynamism and passion, clothier Alan Cherry was, as his sister Joy put it, an “unusual force in the city.”

Descended from a family of retailers dating back to the early 1900s, Cherry firmly established himself as a fashion icon in his own right, a reputation he upheld even after he left the industry in 2006 due to illness.

Cherry died Sept. 21 at the age of 80.

His high-end Yonge Street clothing store, called Alan Cherry, which he took over from his parents in 1970, became an institution in the city, legendary for its bridal wear and for being one of the first to bring designer European labels such as Hugo Boss and Versace to Toronto.

Cherry prevailed in the fashion industry through the 1970s and ’80s and subsequently opened a women’s clothing store in Yorkville, where he worked until his health declined.

He was known for his impeccable taste and distinctive branding.

“You’d get a gold cherry tree inside your garment – it was under the [item’s] label,” remembered Wendy Mandelbaum, one of Cherry’s three daughters. 

Along with impeccable taste and business savvy, Cherry had trademark theatrical flair: he famously garnered attention for posing with a tiger for an ad, and in 1978, he made news for showing his wares to two dozen or so visiting Saudi Arabian princesses.

“He raised the bar of retail in Toronto beyond the grand retail legacy he was born into,” Wendy said.

Cherry’s grandparents immigrated from Russia to Toronto in 1906 and opened up a dry cleaning and tailoring business. The store later expanded to carry ladies’ wear.

His mother subsequently continued the family clothing legacy, opening a clothing store on Danforth Avenue.

He grew up in the apartment above it, the middle child between sisters Linda and Joy, who also became clothing retailers, each with a store to their names.

Cherry attended Lawrence Park Collegiate and, according to his family, excelled in both artistic and athletic endeavours. He played hockey and worked as a lifeguard, and as a teen, won a sculpture contest sponsored by Eaton’s department store.

“He had all this creativity that he put into his business,” Wendy said.

When he was a young man, Cherry worked in his mother’s store and showed keen interest in the industry. He eventually split off and launched his flagship store, on Yonge just south of Bloor Street. 

“My brother will never be replicated. There isn’t another human being that could be like him,” said Joy, herself a former retailer of international high fashion. “With his creativity, retailing, athleticism – he was really an incredible man.”

Cherry had three daughters with his first wife Rosalyn. 

He was a competitive squash player with many awards to his name, and in 1980, he  was Canada’s No. 2-ranked player. Wendy said it was always important to Cherry to remain affiliated with the Young Men’s Hebrew Association, even after he began to be invited to non-Jewish athletics clubs. “He was one of the first Jewish people [in the city] to be invited into non-Jewish clubs, and he set a precedent for that,” she said.

Bob Saunderson, chair of the Bloor Street Business Improvement Area and a commercial real estate broker, said he always respected Cherry for his commitment to running his business on his own terms.

In the 1960s, he said, Cherry’s store ranked among Creeds, a high-end furrier, and Holt Renfrew as the city’s leading fashion retailers.

“He was one of the best merchants in the city, and I’d think even in Canada, at that time,” Saunderson noted.

Saunderson said he was “forever trying to get Alan Cherry to move [his store] into a shopping centre,” but “[Cherry] was a ‘Main Street’ retailer and he perfected that… He was very good at it and you couldn’t argue with it.”He praised Cherry for being “a perfectionist, always elegant” and “always fun to deal with.”

Cherry was a survivor of lymphoma and, later, a stroke, but succumbed to a brief bout of pneumonia. He’s survived by daughters Lisa, Wendy and Debbie and grandchildren Arin, Lauren, Lucas and Jake.