
Ports International

Ports is a luxury fashion house that was founded by Canadian fashion designer Luke Tanabe (1920–2009) in Toronto in 1961. It specializes in luxury ready-to-wear and accessories for men and women. Operating under the company Ports International at its height, it continues under various business structures as Ports International, Ports 1961, Ports Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong-based headquarters of its holding company Ports Design, Ltd.
History.
The company was founded as Newport Canada in 1961 as an import business for clothing from Japan. It evolved into a women's fashion business with Vancouver-born Tanabe as its designer and was renamed Ports International in 1966. In the 1970s, the company expanded in North America, later opening signature boutiques in international locations. in 1970, Ports opened its United States flagship store in Manhattan, followed by stores in Copley Place, Boston and Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, California. Ports expanded to the United Kingdom, opening its London–based flagship at on Bond Street in 1978, with boutique openings in Cambridge and Bath in 1979.
In 1980, Tanabe created Tabi International in Toronto, a Canadian store chain with more affordable clothing for women. Tanabe, whose parents had been Japanese immigrants to Canada, retired in 1989 and sold Ports and Tabi to Toronto-based Etac Sales Ltd. and its owner, Canadian entrepreneur Alfred K.T. Chan (*1947). Tabi International was liquidated in 2011 and the remaining 76 Tabi stores in Canada were closed. Etac filed for bankruptcy in 1994.
Ports design team personnel changes included the hiring of designers Christine and Miki Tanabe in 1980, co-designers Dean and Dan Caten in 1988, and Tia and Fiona Cibani as creative directors and chief designers in 1992.
Ports Design Ltd. was created by Chan with his wife Fiona Cibani in Xiamen in 1994 and listed at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (0589.HK) in 2003.
Ports 1961.
In 2004, Chan re-launched the company in North America as New York City-based Ports 1961 with designer Tia Cibani (*1973), Fiona's younger sister. As of 2011, Ports 1961 operated stores in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, West Hollywood, Manhattan, Paris, London (shop-in-shop) and mainland China. "Ports 1961" launched a fashion-forward menswear collection for the first time in 2011 with designers Fiona Cibani, who took over for her sister in 2010, and Ian Hylton. Classic menswear collections from "Ports" had been available before.
A fashion show and 40th anniversary celebration was held at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in 2001. The Ports 1961 collection was featured in the 2006 movie "The Devil Wears Prada" and the 2008 movie "Sex and the City". The Ports 1961 wood clutch was showcased at the New York Museum of Modern Art in 2007.
In April 2010, Tia Cibani stepped down as creative director of Ports 1961, and her sister Fiona Cibani was named creative director of the label. In 2011, Ports expanded to France, with the opening of a Ports 1961 store in Paris. In 2012, Ports 1961 moved its headquarters and production units from New York to Milan, Italy.
By the end of 2014, the Hong Kong-based Ports Design operation operated 310 retail stores, selling Xiamen-manufactured products under the Ports International, Ports 1961, BMW Lifestyle, Armani Collezioni, Armani Jeans, and Versace brands. In December 2014, Natasa Cagalj was appointed women's creative director of Ports 1961. In September 2015, Ports 1961 opened its first US menswear-only store.
For the Spring 2016 men's collection, Ports 1961 partnered with the boxing brand Everlast. In 2017, Jenny Tan was appointed CEO of Ports 1961. A few months later, Ports 1961 was criticized for its misappropriate use of the Black Lives Matter (declining it to "Every Color Matters" and "Only Love Matters") in its Sping runway show.
In August 2019, Fabien Baron and Karl Templer became the new creative directors of Ports 1961, replacing Natasa Casalj who had left a few months earlier. In May 2020, Ports 1961 signed a 10-year deal with the Italian eyewear manufacturer Safilo Group.