It’s arguable that Vancouver’s fashion and interior design scenes have yet to receive the same international recognition as its thriving cannabis market and craft beer boom. But this Thursday (February 25), the city will join the likes of Cologne, Milan, New York City, and Los Angeles, as Railtown’s Inform Contract hosts the sole Canadian stop for the anticipated Prouvé RAW exhibit.

A collaboration between global denim brand G-Star RAW and Swiss furniture maker Vitra, the exhibit will showcase a collection of revived office furnishings originally designed by famed French modernist Jean Prouvé in the 1930s and ‘40s.

The 10-piece line, which ranges from spacious, solid-wood-topped desks to cushy leather armchairs balanced on structural, triangular back legs, stays true to Prouvé’s function-first mentality while embodying a fresh, industrial-cool swank that would look right at home in high-tech start-up spaces, boutique hotels, and ritzy man-caves alike.

“It’s very similar,” says Paul Sjaarda, director at Inform Contract, comparing the collection to Prouvé’s initial iterations in a phone interview with the Straight. “The only difference would be the paint colours and material finishes, but it’s the same design as the original. If you were to look at it as a line drawing, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.”

Prouvé’s preferred medium of metal joins warm solid oaks and luxe leather upholstery in the pieces, many updated with modern conveniences, like soft-close drawers and hidden outlet flaps, and powder-coated in the same muted, military-like greens that have come to signify the G-Star RAW brand.

In fact, the office collection makes up an integral part of the Dutch denim line’s headquarters in Amsterdam, which was recently redesigned by celebrated architect Rem Koolhaas.

For Sjaarda, the factory-chic furnishings reflect the comeback of a design style in Vancouver that has come to characterize a growing number of independent cafes, lofts, and trendy restaurant spots. Various craft breweries across the Lower Mainland have also adopted the raw, slightly undone trend, pairing rustic wood finishes with shiny concrete floors and angular, metal stools.

“We’re seeing this kind of industrial aesthetic in Vancouver—raw materials, ceilings with exposed pipes, cement flooring,” he says. “I think that these products and the exhibit speak to that, but it’s also a bit more polished and engineered version of it.”

With price points starting at $3,504, the Prouvé RAW furnishings don’t come cheap, but mid-century design junkies and avid collectors should find much to admire during the free exhibit, which runs from February 26 to March 31 at Inform Contract (405 Railway Street). The glossy, all-white commercial building is an apt backdrop for the limited-edition collection, which will be produced and available for order until the end of 2016.

The exhibit also offers an opportunity for Vancouver’s architecture, interior design, and fashion communities to converge in one stylin’ space. “I’m excited about that aspect of it,” Sjaarda says, “to kind of integrate people from the three scenes.”

For more information about the Prouvé RAW office collection and exhibit, visit Vitra’s website.