Holland College alumni start clothing company

‘Hardwear’ draws inspiration from workwear, street fashion in clothing line

Duncan McKenzie (left) and Wyatt Gallant, founders of the Hardwear clothing company, intend for the P.E.I.-based brand to be affordable and eco-friendly.

Wyatt Gallant and Duncan McKenzie faced turning points in their careers during the winter of 2025.

Gallant, a 27-year-old graduate of Holland College’s Computer Information Services program, was laid off in the fall from his programming job, becoming unemployed for the first time in five years.

“My position got phased out of the company,” said Gallant. “It’s brutal.”

Around the same time, McKenzie, a graduate of Holland College’s Culinary Institute, was feeling burnt out in his career as a chef.

“Food is getting more expensive, and sourcing anything sustainably is becoming more difficult,” said the 27-year-old. “But not only that, it’s hard work. It’s tough on your body.”

The friends talked about what they wanted to do going forward.

Earlier in the summer of 2025, they had the idea of starting a clothing company together.

Back then, they were too busy with their jobs to invest enough time into starting the company.

Later, with their career paths uncertain, they started thinking more about that idea.

“Doing this, without an actual salaried nine-to-five over my head, I can dedicate more of my mind to it,” said Gallant. “It just feels more natural.”

On the first day of their search for equipment, McKenzie opened Facebook Marketplace.

He saw someone offering to sell a used heat press, typically valued at $2,000, for $300.

“Oh, this might be meant to be,” he thought.

From that point on, the pair started working in earnest on Hardwear.

The brand’s founding was inspired by much of the clothing both men have seen growing up on P.E.I.: a combination of streetwear, work clothes, and band t-shirts.

Presently, they operate out of Gallant’s house in Charlottetown.

To fund the company, McKenzie saves up money from his job as a chef, while Gallant has taken on more graphic design and photography jobs to compensate for the loss of his job.

Duncan McKenzie creates designs for his company Hardwear. Both he and co-owner Wyatt Gallant try to balance how much of their individual visions go into their designs.

While neither has formal training in graphic design, Gallant has been creating digital art since a young age.

He has spent the past few years taking side jobs of designing posters for local artists and events, improving his craft all the while.

Gallant has more experience with digital art, but the two try to make sure that their respective visions are represented equally through Hardwear.

Maintaining that balance has been a struggle at times.

Mike Thomas, an instructor in Holland College’s Graphic Design program, said this is only one of many challenges for designers looking to get into entrepreneurship.

“The amount of work it takes to do those things, the time management, project management, hunting for work, communicating with clients, sending the invoices, and estimates when you’re just getting started, it takes a lot of time,” said Thomas. “It’s a lot of effort. It takes a special kind of person.”

Despite that, the two entrepreneurs welcome the challenges that come with their work.

“We want to bite off as much as we can chew, and then a little more,” said McKenzie. “We always want to be pushing ourselves. I truly believe that the only way to improve on whatever you’re doing is to always be just a little bit uncomfortable.”

Hardwear is running test prints of their clothing line to prepare for production.

If all goes well, they hope to start taking orders by fall 2026.

Wyatt Gallant designs for his company Hardwear. He has been making digital art since childhood.