Marissa Freed wears her family’s outerwear legacy.
If you catch a glimpse of Marissa Freed out and about in Atlanta, you can tell she’s a woman of style. What you might not know about her, though, is that she comes from a manufacturing dynasty. Her great-grandfather began his company, Freed & Freed, in Winnipeg in 1921 as a pants factory, and her family once held the license for London Fog, among others.
The family business was a part of her everyday experience from a young age. “Every family vacation, we ended up in some major department store in the outerwear section,” she says. Freed took over her family’s business 17 years ago and currently serves as CEO. The company has manufactured a variety of items, including Pendleton wool items and “private label pieces for every major North American retailer,” according to Freed.
In 2021, she had an idea for a clothing line driven by two things. One was her love of animals and the way they are treated. The second was motherhood. “I wanted to figure out how, in my own tiny way, I could make a positive impact,” she says. Shortly after founding FREED, a vegan and cruelty-free outerwear brand in Canada, she and her family moved from Toronto to Atlanta for her husband’s job.
FREED has been inspired by her time in Atlanta, a much warmer climate than she was used to. “There’s a clear difference between outerwear Canadians and Americans buy,” she says. “Atlantans and Americans in general love to dress seasonally and love to look fabulous, especially with trending fabrics like faux fur.”
The pieces are also sustainable. “We are completely vertical and really find ourselves as close as humanly possible to zero waste because we do all the cutting and sewing in our own factories,” she says, noting that they repurpose leftover fabric for future seasons and styles.
Sold online and at Tootsies in Atlanta, Houston and Dallas, FREED pays homage to her family’s roots with a twist that focuses on shorter, lighter styles. Her animal-free, faux fur and leather items have a texture and elegance that mimic the real thing but at a fraction of the price. “Our faux fur feels and moves like fur and has that richness, but it’s an opportunity for people to not wear real animals and still achieve everything they want [stylistically],” she says.
Freed also had fun mixing up the styles and catering to a U.S. customer. “It’s been super exciting to serve different markets in the U.S., creating things like cropped sleeves, things Canadians would never buy,” she says.
As a breast cancer survivor, Freed created a charitable campaign last year. Called Pink For a Cause, the capsule collection featured the brand’s signature pink faux fur coats and accessories. A portion of the proceeds from these designs go to women’s health and breast cancer awareness organizations, including Emory Healthcare, where she received treatment.
Freed used survivors in the marketing materials for the line. “Pink For a Cause is incredibly meaningful to me. Bringing together survivors ranging from one year to nearly 30 years post-diagnosis for that photoshoot was a powerful and deeply moving experience, filled with hope, connection and shared strength,” she says.
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