ENGLISH VERSION
Farms logo and lettering in white on a green background. Some permissions may be temporary, such as the word“ Emirates” in white lettering on the Godolphin silks from March 3 to June 19. This modern coat of arms follows very strict rules. Two colours, exceptionally three, selected from a palette of eighteen shades and twenty-six patterns according to the Rules of Racing. Between shades( light green, green, dark green) for the base colour, checks, chevrons, Crosses of Lorraine, discs or epaulettes for the design, and further colour options for those designs, creating a racing silk offers an infinite number of possibilities.
“ Today, only three of us still work the traditional way” Colours are sacred, rather like a marriage or a logo. Since the possibilities are vast, one must make the right choice.“ I regularly send a selection of three samples to my new clients,” says Christian Cormy, one of the last Mohicans of traditional tailoring under the Confection Mireille label. His trademark:“ Handfolded collars, topstitched seams, trimmed armholes, buttonholes and buttons. Everything is sewn and embroidered onto nylon satin.” Based 20 kilometres from Clermont-Ferrand, this energetic octogenarian has witnessed the evolution of racing silks first-hand.“ I took over from my mother in 1981.” In his 30-square-metre workshop, times have changed. Emails have replaced telephone calls, his van travels less often to racecourses, annual orders have fallen from 500 to 300, his team has gone from two people to one employee, but his expertise continues to shine.“ All of the Papot stable jockeys wear Mireille silks,” he says, the day after Jel Sem and Losange Bleu’ s victories at Auteuil in mid- May. His mother outfitted Gérard Masque, a trotting star of the 1960s and 1970s, and later the Goujon brothers.“ Ourasi won each of his four Prix d’ Amérique victories wearing a brand-new silk specially made for the occasion.” Christian Cormy later developed the brand on the Flat side.“ In the early 1980s there were five or six manufacturers. Today only three of us still work in the traditional way, surrounded by many resellers.” Although competition from English manufacturers has intensified in recent years, his reach remains international: Spain, Portugal, North Africa, the Benelux countries, the French overseas territories, a little in Great Britain, and even Japan. Over the years, fabrics have become lighter.“ Jockeys weigh more than they used to, so that forces us to make things lighter. A jacket made from ultralight tergal can weigh around 120 grams, while a satin racing silk weighs around 180 grams. The latter is much more resistant. At Auteuil, it is recommended,” explains the man many simply call Monsieur Mireille. At the same time, distinctions between trotting and Flat racing silks have gradually become less pronounced.“ About fifteen years ago, the patterns changed. Today, in Flat racing we use designs that used to be reserved for trotting, and the same goes for sashes.” Some subtle differences nevertheless remain. A“ V” on a silk at ParisLongchamp becomes a chevron at Vincennes. Naturally, this lightweight jacket has followed the winds of technological change. To maximise performance, traditional satin is increasingly giving way to nylon and other lightweight fibres. One thing, however, has not changed: racing silks remain the ultimate visual emblem of the racecourse. More than apparel, they are a concentration of history, identity and tradition.
ALL THE COLOURS
Chanel Red“ I had Hermès called, they were quite astonished that I wasn’ t making my racing silk myself. But I dress women, not horses.” Before the 1964 Prix de Diane, Mademoiselle Coco Chanel gave an interview to Week-End newspaper that has remained famous, in which she explained how she had to be clever in order for her racing silk to be as red as she wanted:“ I chose the red myself. As for the white, I told them to cheat and put it on the elbows. When the jockey bends his arm, you no longer see it.”
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