ENGLISH VERSION
To Change Colours It is the ancestor of the expression“ to turn one’ s coat.” An attitude long attributed to mercenaries seeking to save their own skin. Charles Emmanuel I of Savoy is said to have popularised the expression while dreaming simultaneously of the French and Spanish thrones. One legend claims that he wore a jacket in the colours of both countries so that he could switch allegiances whenever convenient. By the nineteenth century, the expression tourner casaque had gradually disappeared in favour of retourner sa veste(“ to turn one’ s coat”).
Canaries The predominantly yellow shirt worn by Nantes football players earned them the nickname Canaries. But the origin of that nickname owes more to a horse than to a bird. When he founded the football club in 1943 alongside Marcel Saupin, businessman Jean Le Guillou adopted the colours of his racing silk, under which his horse Ali Pacha had enjoyed success on racecourses. That is why FC Nantes plays in yellow and green, symbols of success and hope.
A Model“ Our first client is the horse. The second is the rider,” Jean-Louis Dumas, head of Hermès from 1978 to 2006, was fond of saying. The story linking racing and
Hermès is almost as long as a Grand Steeplechase de Paris. But the branding power of racing silks and their aristocratic heritage became so influential that other major fashion houses drew inspiration from them for their own creations. Gucci with its saturated colours, Dior under Galliano... By the way, do you know what the prestigious clients of major fashion houses in the 1930s were nicknamed? Jockeys.
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THIERRY JARNET:“ TECHNOLOGY AND INFLATION HAVE DEALT A BLOW TO FRENCH MANUFACTURERS”
BY ALICE BAUDRELLE
A jockey from 1984 to 2016, Thierry Jarnet rode approximately 2,600 winners around the world, including four editions of the Prix de l ' Arc de Triomphe. Having become a coach for students at French academy Afasec, he shared with us his thoughts on the evolution of the racing silk:
“ When I started race riding, there were many more silk racing silks, particularly the classic silks. They were not much heavier than synthetic racing silks, but jockeys’ weights are sometimes decided by just a few grams! I had a fairly strict lifestyle and diet, so it was not a problem for me. Racing silks evolved because of technology and inflation, which led to the disappearance of several French manufacturers. In the past, you could buy large numbers of hand-sewn racing silks from Mireille or Au Petit Matelot, a large clothing store on Avenue de la Grande Armée in Paris. Over time, less expensive solutions had to be found, and racing silks started being ordered online from abroad, where they are machine-made. I do not think there has been a major revolution in terms of the appearance of racing silks themselves.” Nostalgic for the days of the colours of the Wildenstein family and the Marquise de Moratalla, which have disappeared, Thierry Jarnet remains especially fond of one set of colours in particular:“ For me, the one that had something extra compared to the others was Olivier Lecerf’ s colours, black with a blue cap, which I wore with Subotica. Not only did I find them very beautiful, but they also have a special meaning: with those colours I achieved my first victory for André Fabre, my first Group 1, and my first Arc … A real lucky charm!”.
Racing silks for sale at Au Petit Matelot: an outdated concept … or not? Founded in 1790, Au Petit Matelot is the oldest Parisian store still in operation, located on Avenue de la Grande Armée. It offers elegant clothing for the countryside, the seaside, or
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