During Julie Evelyn Joyce’s undergraduate studies at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ont., Modrobes were ubiquitous. The bright, baggy lounge pants with cinchable waists had become a 1990s fashion staple for comfort-seeking, rave-going young adults. She soon owned a pair in every available colour.

The millennium had hardly turned, though, before the company folded—a casualty of growing too quickly and rising competition from fast fashion.

Only one pair of Joyce’s go-to trousers survived into her adulthood. She searched for years to replenish her supply and was thrilled to discover several months ago that someone had rebooted the beloved brand.

A couple from a small town in northwestern Alberta had purchased Modrobes on a whim in the summer of 2022, hoping its once-rabid fanbase would be swayed by nostalgia into once again buying the pants. They’ve since sold about 150,000 pairs, mostly to millennials, and are now looking to convince gen-Z to don duds they did not grow up with.

“It was just like rediscovering my early 20s again,” said Joyce, 41, who purchased three pairs—blue and yellow originals, and neon yellow fleece—in December, then three more in January. “I fell in love for the second time.”

Few companies captured the zeitgeist of their time as surely as Modrobes, which began in 1996 as the business class project of Brock student Steven Sal Debus. With a $10,000 investment from his father-in-law, he started selling the pants outside university cafeterias. As he built a fanbase, he asked customers to call local retailers to ask about the pants. He’d eventually call the retailer himself and broker a distribution deal based on the demand he’d created.

At its peak, Modrobes made $10 million in sales a year, mostly in Canada and a bit in the U.S. as well as some other countries, he said, and operated seven of its own stores. 

He shuttered the company in 2003, though, after a failed experiment to open Modrobes shops in malls and disagreements over whether to outsource manufacturing from Canada to China. Modrobes filed for bankruptcy protection and survived the process, getting out of its 10-year mall leases, and Sal Debus maintained ownership. He twice attempted to revive the company—once via a “Dragons’ Den” deal, and once by crowdfunding limited production runs.

By then, though, he’d run out of energy to keep the company going. In 2022, Sal Debus logged onto the company’s Facebook page and asked if anyone wanted to take over. He was flooded with interest, but one prospective ownership team stood out: a master electrician and his wife, who live in Sexsmith, Alta., a community of about 2,600 people roughly 20 kilometres north of Grande Prairie.

Alex Curry, 39, loves his old Modrobes so much that his wife, Zoë, is accustomed to listening to him evangelize for them every several months (most recently after his young daughter’s birthday party, which featured grass-sliding and water balloon fights: “Perfect day for my Modrobes,” he said).

By happenstance, he searched the brand not long after Sal Debus’s post went up, and found it. Alex sent an email expressing interest, fearing he might regret a missed opportunity. After some correspondence, the couple made an offer.

Sal Debus quickly sensed he could trust the Currys—in particular their commitment to continue making the pants in Canada. It helped that Alex was a super fan of the product and that they were willing to keep Sal Debus involved. “This guy is going to take care of this brand,” he recalled thinking. The deal closed in August 2022. Neither the founder nor the Currys would disclose financial terms, but both confirmed Sal Debus retained a five-per cent stake.

Soon, boxes containing everything Sal Debus had left of the business—designs, paperwork and ready-for-sale Modrobes—started arriving at the Currys’ house. They spent hours on video calls with the founder, who guided them through next steps. They enlisted the services of a local marketing person who’d helped Alex promote his electrical business and found a manufacturer in Calgary.

They managed to relaunch just ahead of the 2022 holiday season with most of their sales coming from the roughly 2,000 followers of Modrobes’ original Facebook page. Customers were quick to voice their gratitude. “I honestly feel like Santa Claus,” said Alex.

The couple mostly sells the pants through an online shop, though four retail stores in Ontario have stocked them since the relaunch. The Currys fulfill orders out of their home where they live with their three kids, half of which has been converted to serve as Modrobes’ storage facility, fulfillment centre and corporate headquarters. 

In addition to the original style, they made the first kids’ line of fleece and lounge options. They came up with the idea after finding a single pair of mini trousers in a box from Sal Debus, who had a storm-blue pair custom made for his son. “We pulled those out and my jaw hit the floor,” said Alex.

Millennials who know the brand have been their best customers, and Modrobes has mostly relied on word of mouth and some social-media marketing. This past holiday period, Modrobes sold out of most of their kids’ pants: it turns out fans of the label from its ‘90s hey-day are now parents who’ve helped push sales past the 150,000 mark, Alex said. Their in-country production costs don’t allow much room for discounts, so, as part of their marketing strategy, the Currys add Modrobes-branded freebies to the orders they ship—lunch bags, bucket hats and keychains.

The newest items on the Modrobes website are cargo pants, complete with five pockets. Zoë drove that design decision after noticing cargos have come back into fashion, especially among young people. The expansion made sense since Modrobes next wants to target gen-Z.

Corinna Dietrich, who is in her 40s and lives in Kitchener, Ont., bought two pairs of Modrobes after the relaunch. She finds she can tell a person’s age based on their reaction to her style choice. Her peers instantly recognize the brand and get excited to learn they’re back. Meanwhile, a younger coworker saw them and told Dietrich, “I think my mom had those.” 

The Currys know they need to break through to younger generations to keep growing. They also know they’ll need a different marketing strategy to lure them in, likely moving from Facebook to its cooler counterpart TikTok and working with young influencers to put the product in front of their target market. “You have to prove to them who you are, why you’re cool, why you’re a good thing,” said Zoë.

They and Sal Debus are optimistic, though, and are eyeing introducing the brand south of the border. But they’re sticking to a slow-and-steady approach. “Of course, everybody would want it to be: retire a billionaire next year. That’s probably not in the cards,” said Alex. “I want to build something sustainable and stable.”