PORT discovers the slow fashion and local ethos of Saint James – the small, Normandy-based fashion brand that has become an icon of French style
Founded by William the Conqueror in 1067 – the year after his victory at the Battle of Hastings where he secured the English crown – Saint-James is a small town located a few miles inland from France’s northern coast. With a population of less than 3,000, it would be a quiet, unassuming place were it not for the town’s eponymous clothing brand, which was founded by the then mayor in 1889 and is still headquartered there today.
The Saint James Company (aka Saint James) is perhaps best known for producing a version of the iconic marinière, the striped shirt designed initially for fishermen in Brittany and later adopted by the French Navy in 1858. According to Breton folklore, the top’s 21 stripes represent Napoleon’s victories over the British at sea, while also making it easier to see any men wearing it who have fallen overboard. Yet, despite this long, illustrious and militaristic tradition (which includes commissions by both the French Army and Navy), Saint James maintains an unusually relaxed commercial attitude.
“The sirens of fast fashion – the cheap and disposable clothing made for the sake of renewal – do not appeal to us at all,” says Luc Lesénécal, President of The Saint James Company, when asked why, with such a prestigious history, his brand’s output remains small.
Lesénécal joined the company in 2012 and is proud of the brand that he invested in financially as well as professionally. “The region and local culture are in my blood,” he says. “I sought to get personally involved with a beautiful company and that represented a strong legacy and a unique know-how. I found this with Saint James.”
In popular culture, the Saint James marinière has become synonymous with Gallic chic – from the beret-sporting French stereotype, to the discerning eye of designer Coco Chanel and the gamine charm of Jean Seberg in the iconic New Wave film Breathless. Donned by Pablo Picasso and Jackson Pollock, as if channelling the freedom of the shirt’s seafaring origins, it has come to be associated with avant-garde and bohemian life.
“The Breton top, as it’s called in English, – though I prefer to call it a sailor shirt – is one of the essential three pillars to the brand, in addition to the connection with Mont Saint-Michel and knitting with wool,” Lesénécal explains. “The shirt’s 21 stripes are a nod to Bonaparte and his victories, but they represent so much more. They embody everything positive that French culture has to offer. They are timeless and simple in their beauty.”
Given Saint James’ pedigree both as a lifestyle brand and as a military outfitters, I wondered how Lesénécal viewed the company and if the philosophy has changed over the years.
“We respect all people, from our designers to our manufacturers and quality controllers,” Lesénécal says before explaining that Saint James’ history and legacy is defined by the brand’s core values: independence, exemplified by the fact that it’s owned by its employees; open-mindedness; a tradition of quality materials; and a crew spirit.
“Our contract with the French Navy and Airforce just got renewed for the next four years and we’re really proud of that,” he tells me. “I’d say that Saint James represents the defence of some values that are dear to France. It applies to a country, but also to fashion and to simply making a strong statement through our clothes by making our customers feel good in them.”
