Rodier and the Evolution of Twentieth Century Fashion

One hot sunny day …..

It all started with a skinny rib and by all I mean this blog post. If you’ve read any of my other posts then you’ll know that often these little nuggets of fashion history and observation are inspired by a recent find and this one is no exception. 

I found this stunner of a 60s knit on a hot summer’s search for vintage knitwear and this beauty did not disappoint. I think I saw the colours first, that bold bright red against the navy blue, a quick feel revealed the quality of the knit and finally I spotted the Rodier, Paris label. 

The yé-yé years..

I’d come across Rodier, Paris before and was vaguely aware of the brand thanks to a vintage scarf but this cute mod sweater was my cue to find out more. 

Given the style and quality of my jumper it will come as no surprise that Rodier were big in the 60s, so big in fact that by 1966 they were the world’s leading ready to wear label, the concept of which was then still relatively new. Always forward thinking the company had launched a ready to wear knitwear collection full of innovative knits and colours as early as 1956.  

The fashionable fitted styles and bold colour combinations were a big hit with the en vogue French yé-yé girls of 60s France who were inspired by Mary Quant’s groundbreaking styles back in the UK based on the fun colours and flexible fabrics previously reserved for children’s wear.

Coco steps in ..

Rodier’s 1960s success did not come out of nowhere, the company had been innovators from their early days as textile manufacturers, designing their own fabrics and working with early twentieth century designers such as Coco Chanel and Jean Patou as part of the softer fashion  revolution which replaced the traditional corseted styling of the past with softer fabrics and more fluid and flexible garments. In fact the business savvy Chanel negotiated an exclusive rights deal with Eugene Rodier for their jersey fabric, elevating it from men’s underwear to haute couture.

The story continues ..

This by no means the end of  Rodier’s history, they still have to design Air France uniforms and dress supermodels but I’ll be leaving it there for now as I’m more interested in my garment’s story,  who will own it next and what adventures will it have ?