French Navy will sell its clothing as a brand for the first time including classic Breton striped tops immortalised by Coco Chanel and Jean-Paul Gaultier
- Collection will feature the classic Breton striped tops and a range of bags
- The items will be sold under the brand name ‘Marine National 1626’
- Profits will go towards ‘improving the working conditions of sailors’
The French Navy will sell its clothing as a brand for the first time.
The collection will feature the classic Breton striped tops and a ‘young, chic and dynamic’ range of bags made of recycled sails.
The marinière tops with blue and white stripes will be sold from Thursday under the brand name ‘Marine National 1626’, referencing the year Cardinal Richelieu, chief minister to King Louis XIII, established the French Navy.
The French Navy will sell its clothing as a brand for the first time. Above, French Navy soldiers are pictured in June 2020
They will also sell watches and other accessories, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph.
The brand’s logo is identifiable by an anchor with a red pompom on top.
French Navy’s chief-of-staff, Admiral Pierre Vandier, said that the Navy aimed ‘to be better known by the French people who it serves everyday, all over the world’.
According to Admiral Vandier, the money made will go towards ‘improving the working conditions of sailors on board and to fund our charities, which notably look after the wounded,’
The blue-and-white marinière uniform was adopted by the French Navy in 1858.
A model walks the runway during the Jean-Paul Gaultier Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2020 show as part of Paris Fashion Week in January last year
A genuine marinière has, front and back, twenty navy blue stripes each 10 millimetres wide, spaced 20 millimetres apart, and on the sleeves fourteen navy blue stripes spaced the same.
Sailors used to say that the stripes made it easier to see men who had fallen into the sea.
Although it originated in the Navy, the marinière has been an important fashion item ever since, inspiring the likes of Coco Chanel and Jean Paul Gaultier.
German fashion designer Karl Lagerfield regularly recreating the marinière for his fashion shows.
A model walks the runway during the Jean-Paul Gaultier Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2020 show. Although it originated in the Navy, the marinière has been an important fashion item ever since, inspiring the likes of Coco Chanel and Jean Paul Gaultier
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