I have always been convinced that colours have immense power. They add joy – seeing life through rose-colored glasses – share a feeling – feeling blue – share a state of health– being as white as a sheet.
For reasons I can't explain, I have an intimate relationship with the orangey-red colour. It brings me immense joy just by seeing it in a book. It constantly surrounds me, in my clothes, in everyday objects, in things that cross my path daily.
Credits : Evie Shaffer
There is a term in Japanese, Matou, which means "to envelop oneself in the aura of a person, kindness, or even a colour." I learned it while attending a lecture given by the designers behind the famous Japanese brand Matohu.
I firmly believe that we can heal and mend through colour.
Colours have meaning, just like the words we use or the types of knit we choose. We communicate through our clothes and, intrinsically, through the fabrics used to make them.
It took me a few months to write this article. It's no secret, but navigating the labyrinths of entrepreneurship in times of crisis is exhausting. In these roller coasters, writing took a back seat. I am slowly getting back to it as my wonderful team takes over. For me, collaboration, sharing, and transmission are fundamental. Having a team, business partners, and a supportive environment is a blessing that requires effort and is essential.
But let's get back to the topic.
As every year, the timeless colours remain. Black beauty, white, natural, blue nights. These are the shades for basic, no-fuss collections.
Among the colours we added this year, there is Raspberry Rose. The rebellious, teenage colour. There is also Tawny Port, a clever mix of aubergine and raspberry. A colour often found in tales and fantasy stories.
2024 Collaborative pre-sales palette
This theme, Memory, is an ode to remembrance, tradition, heritage, and the emotional attachment we have to our clothes. Like a memory chest we open, reminiscent of a past life, like Proust's madeleine.
Memory & Attachment
Textile is a memory, a story. Every time I talk about my job, I gather a story. Often a childhood memory.
Credits : Mathias Reding
Sometimes, it's the memory of a grandmother knitting itchy socks; other times, it's neighbors growing linen by the river.
There is an essential notion we should talk about more often when discussing ecological transition: the emotional attachment we have to the objects around us and the clothes we wear. Because the more importance and value we attach, the more likely we are to take care of them for a long time.
"Durability is crafting objects that value love" according to Matohu.
Louise Bourgeois had a very strong emotional attachment to her wardrobe, which she kept for over 20 years. She saw her clothes as markers of time past, bearing the traces of her history. Through her work, Louise Bourgeois was interested in the emotions and traumas carried by our clothes and the price to pay to part with them.
« Clothing is there to be used. Garments are a testament to what has been done in them » Louise Bourgeois[1]
Mending & Healing
Part of my interest in fashion stems from my belief that clothes have the power to transform us.
Credits : Montloup
Haven't you ever heard the story of Peau d'Âne, who, to escape the incestuous marriage her father wanted, wore a donkey's skin?
"Every investiture involves clothing, and some roles need it more than others" (translated from French).
In this text, Odile Blanc wonders if clothes make the man. She refers to the uniform worn by priests, magistrates, or doctors: "What clothing does is allow an individual to assume a persona through an appearance that transforms their real body and reveals its essence," (translated from French). However, if a uniform confers certain powers, could it not also bestow more symbolic ones like confidence, assurance, splendor?
To invest is to rewear. To wear a garment that allows us to embody, to wear the skin of someone or something else.
Could we not wear confidence, invest in joy, dress to feel better?
Credits : Cottonbro studio
Julie Grenier, Inuit multidisciplinary artist, spoke at a conference on the links between craftsmanship and resistance about the importance and significance of the coat for the Inuit. Wearing clothes made from an animal's skin bestows the wearer with the wisdom and attributes of that animal.
In the history of art, many artists had a close relationship with their wardrobe. Joseph Beuys, for example, wore his clothes like a uniform. His hat, to him, had its own personality.
Heritage & Transmission
How can we talk about memory without mentioning collective memory?
Regarding History with a capital "H," textiles in Quebec are no exception.
Credits : Montloup
In Quebec, even in the last century, textile expertise provided income for thousands of people. We made fabrics, clothes, grew linen, and spun hemp. Among the workers in the supply chain, many were immigrants from Italy or India. I learned alongside some of them, those who still work or recently retired.
I have already written an article on intergenerational collaboration as a tool for knowledge transmission, but I think it's important to mention it again here. We have much to learn from collaborating with people of different ages or backgrounds.
Credits : Montloup
Textiles are an age-old craft passed down from generation to generation. And if today we use computers to work and artificial intelligence to study, it's good to remember that we will always use thread to dress.
In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in manual activities like knitting, weaving, or dyeing. This human need to work with our hands to reconnect with materials in an increasingly digital world is becoming more urgent. There is also a communal aspect to craftsmanship and the act of creating a useful object by hand that connects us to others because few artisans work alone. Often, these are ecosystems that nourish the traditions of a territory or a country's economy.
Childhood & Forgetfulness
Credits : Cottonbro studio
I often envy the patterns and colours seen in children's clothes. As if adults could no longer wear bright colours or bold patterns. I love stripes, polka dots, and vibrant colours. Those that resonate and bring good cheer. I wanted this collection to highlight these joyful colours. Raspberry Rose with Pale Banana, Deep Blue with Pine Green. So that we can play with them, match them, let them bounce off each other with laughter.
Working on memory is also a bit like working on forgetfulness.
Fragmented, uncertain, blurry memory. The memory that distorts, that serves us, that embellishes or disfigures as needed.
The first thing we forget upon reaching adulthood is the child we once were, the child that still slumbers within us. Yet, there is much to learn from children's candor. They have the ability to find beauty in things we might consider trivial. They know how to let go of sadness, express joy, love unconditionally, and imagine. What could be more necessary to face daily life and the wildest projects, to envision the world of tomorrow?
Credits : Cottonbro studio
Of course, we don't need to wear the most conspicuous colours or the most eccentric patterns for our clothes to allow us to embody something positive. We only need to add a small dose of awareness to the pieces we wear and a touch of visualization for the magic to happen.
"There is something magical about doing it [getting dress], since before and after the coating, the person is no longer the same," as translated from the original French text. Vivre habillé, Odile Blanc[2].
And since dressing is an art, I propose to end this text with a quote from Joseph Beuys, who said that art is the only political power, the only revolutionary power, the power to free humanity from all forms of repression:
« Art is the only political power, the only revolutionary power, the only power to free humankind, from all repression »
To write this text, I read:
What artists wear by Charlie Porter
Vivre habillé de Odile Blanc, a book I have read and reread for the past 10 years
I listened a lecture by the designers of Matohu, who have several videos of their work on Youtube
[1] What artists wear, Charlie Porter
[2] Chapter 9, L’habit fait-il le moine ?
