THE GINGHAM

 

If the gingham fabric takes its name from the Vichy thermal french town, its origins is much more distant and more disputed...

In the 19th century, the textile industry was booming in France. At court and in good society, we wear clothes that require meters and meters of fabric that feed and run this nascent industry. Emperor Napoleon III encouraged this development and never missed an opportunity to visit factories whenever he traveled. However, Vichy is one of the resorts of Napoleon III.

These mills had been producing striped cotton canvas for about forty years.

Striped ? And yes, gingham tiles did not appear until the beginning of the 20th century...

 

FROM DYED YARNS TO WOVEN YARNS: THE STORY OF A VERY SPECIAL TILE 

Gingham is not an ordinary tile, its subtlety lies in its contrast between white tiles, colored tiles and halftone ones. Be aware that "guenuine" gingham belongs to the family of fabrics called "woven-dyed", meaning that they are dyed before being woven.

 

• Vichy is a checkered cotton canvas
• Fabric that can be declined in different colors such as pink, blue, red or black.
• The size of the tile also varies between 5 and 15mm.

 

GINGHAM AND FASHION

It was in 1953 that Brigitte Bardot offered her hours of glory to Vichy. She poses in a pink and white gingham dress for the frontcover of Elle magazine, unleashing a furious madness for this textile. Then in 1959, she get married in gingham in a dress designed by designer Jacques Esterel.

 

                  

 

Success has only one time… But fashion is an eternal restart! 

 

The gingham then fell and ended up in the bins of the bazaars of Barbès. But Tati made it her backdrop for her bags giving birth to the famous Tati checkered tarpaulins which would relaunch the inspiration of gingham. These “Tati paintings” will inspire the great couturier Azzedine Alaïa and others.

If Haute Couture has adopted gingham, ready to wear follows this "trend" very closely. From Zara to Sezane, all brands have pants, blouses or gingham dresses in their collections. We also find it in our interior where the small squares seduce with their freshness and charm vintage.

Regardless of the eras, gingham has always been able to come back to the fore. It remains above all a universal and timeless pattern.

And Kidiwi also loves gingham like its famous hand-smocked Emelyne dress, its pretty Daphnée jumpsuit, our Sandra summer shorts or its Cédric blouse.