by Charlotte Husson November 8, 2022

The Bridge Pants

History of fashion

Our wardrobe will very soon be enriched with a Marinière whose story I told you here , So what could be more obvious, you might say, than to add a pair of deck pants. Far be it from me to suggest the total cabin boy look walking the quays of La Trinité sur Mer, don't panic!

Just to offer you 2 timeless essentials, which after these next reservations, will undoubtedly join our icons!

Let me tell you his story.

Unlike the sailor's shirt, which was born in the military, the bridge trousers found their origins in the hard work of seafarers, merchants and fishermen, in 18th century Brittany.

How many bosses died with their crews!

[…]

No one will know their end in the abyss plunged

Each wave as it passed a loot loaded;

One seized the skiff, the other the sailors!

I will not be so irreverent as to claim that the great Victor Hugo in his sublime Oceono Nox, mentioned the deck trousers, but I, through the meanders of my imagination in battle, I cannot help but see and recall why the deck trousers were able to improve the lot of fishermen and sailors.

Another “ Tar te Tatin ” phenomenon , (serendipity)! Innovation born of chance or constraint. The sagacity and practical spirit of seafarers soon made them discover that they would have less risk of getting caught by trawls, nets and ropes in maneuvers close to the rail, if their pants were without central buttons. This is how the idea of pants with a flap on the belly and buttoning on the edges germinated .

As it happened with the Jean denim , which in a century went from being a workwear item to a universal fashion icon, the bridge trouser will take magnificent advantage of its original singularity to evolve into a flattering garment for women. High-waisted and straight cut, this is the ideal way to refine any silhouette , most designers – Lagerfeld, Sonia Rykiel, Chloé, and so on – have given it pride of place in their collections, in my time at Sézane, I even designed one that was a great success .

I wanted, in turn, to bring this garment into your wardrobe. The paths of inspiration are mysterious; in the "forest of symbols" dear to Baudelaire, which I evoked when telling you about the Marinière, there is no doubt that the image of my Mother in 1970 nonchalantly wearing bridge pants and a hippie blouse - or almost! Psychedelic vapors being much less her subject than the joy of living! - has made its pretty way into the labyrinth of my inspiration.

The silhouette of the magnificent Françoise Hardy was undoubtedly not unrelated to my pencil stroke.

🎶 The first happiness of the day

It's a ribbon of sunshine

Which wraps around your hand

And caress my shoulder

It is the breath of the sea

And the beach that awaits

[…]

How can you not be inspired by listening to this song by this incredibly talented fashion icon?

On the occasion of this new creation , we will continue our movement of refocusing in France . I met Sylvain in a workshop near Paris. This is where your bridge pants will be made from dormant stocks of a beautiful 100% cotton twill denim, "zero waste" obviously, for these badge buttons, they come from Lyon our favorite supplier.

What is certain is that Armand will meet all our promises "to make something beautiful and to do it well", 100% French, from start to finish, from the design, to the prototype, to the "zero waste" material, and to manufacturing near Paris!

To be completely honest, I named him ARMAND… and I don’t really know why!

Nothing to do with Armand Duval, the lovesick man of the Lady of the Camellias, I simply find the musicality of this first name very pleasant, could it have other resonances, mystery?

Creativity is just connecting things together, Steve Jobs said, and things that are often foreign to each other, so goes Mister K.

C H