Canadian actor Hudson Williams wore Justin Jacob Louis's knit sweater on Truth and Reconciliation Day, selling out the design in minutes and transforming a smal
A single red carpet moment
The fervor surrounding *Heated Rivalry* has made its stars fashion forces to reckon with. Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie have parlayed their onscreen chemistry into major luxury contracts—Storrie with Saint Laurent, Williams with Balenciaga—plus Met Gala invitations and obsessive fan documentation of their every appearance. Yet their influence may resonate most powerfully with independent designers operating far outside the couture houses.
This week, Williams demonstrated that reach at the Kate Spade New York Global Summit on Women's Mental Health in New York. He arrived wearing a blue-and-black striped knit cardigan by Justin Jacob Louis, a Canada-based Indigenous designer. The piece, named "Journey" and priced at $350, vanished from online inventory within moments of Williams appearing in it.
The timing carried weight beyond commerce. Williams selected the garment for Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Day, which commemorates Indigenous children forcibly removed to residential schools until 1996. He paired it with an orange ribbon, the day's designated symbol. "Love that he's giving a nod to the day," one fan noted on Instagram, recognizing how the choice would "generate sales of the sweater, thus supporting that Indigenous artist."
From dream to design
Louis traces the cardigan's imagery to a dream about winter evenings at his father's home, wondering where his ancestors had gone. "When you look over the prairies, you see all of the blue hues from the moon," he explains. The tipi and color palette capture that lunar illumination; stars transform into watching eyes, representing ancestors who remain present despite physical distance.
The collaboration materialized through deliberate effort. Williams's agent pursued Louis through email and direct message, initially drawing skepticism. "I usually ignore them because I think it's just people wanting free shit," Louis admits. Confirmation that the request genuinely came from Williams changed everything. With only one studio sample in the actor's size available—warehouse stock couldn't arrive in time—someone from Williams's team drove from Vancouver to Louis's home on Sunday to collect it.
The aftermath
Louis discovered the impact after a morning paddle with family. "I came back and looked at my phone, and all of a sudden my phone was blowing up," he recalls. Fan pages had identified the sweater; $12,000 in sales had accumulated; hundreds of new followers had arrived. For a small operation, the figure represents substantial relief. "A day like that is the difference between being able to pay some bills at the end of the month," Louis says. "Sometimes, that amount of sales takes half a month."
The transaction itself distinguished Williams from typical celebrity placements. "He actually purchased it—he didn't ask for anything free," Louis emphasizes. Williams later messaged directly to express thanks.
With only 60 units remaining, the cardigan sold out completely. Louis opened limited pre-orders while maintaining his commitment to exclusive, non-mass-produced releases. A knit hoodie variant may follow. Meanwhile, he has gifted Williams a letterman jacket and remains in contact about potential future appearances—perhaps during the *Heated Rivalry* season two press tour. "I'm 100 percent down," Louis says.