The Origins of SAINT JAMES Breton Shirts and Knitwear
Era el año 1850. León Legallais, alcalde del pueblo de Saint-James en Normandía, Francia, fundó una hilandería llamada "Moulin du Prieur".La empresa familiar comenzó entonces a tejer y a teñir la lana local producida por las ovejas de los "prados salados " criadas en las orillas del Couesnon, en la bahía del famoso Mont Saint-Michel. La lana, de gran calidad, se vendía a las mercerías y tiendas de calcetería locales, que fabricaban sombreros de punto, calcetines y otras prendas de vestir.
Sin saberlo, Léon Legallais construyó los cimientos de una marca que se extendería a lo largo de los siglos, convirtiéndose en un emblema de la moda francesa y en un heredero del saber hacer ancestral.
In 1889, the Moulin du Prieur workshop officially became the Societe Anonyme des Filatures de Saint-James.
Léon Legallais continued to manufacture skeins that were sold to haberdasheries in Normandy and Brittany. He also decided to innovate and launched the first SAINT JAMES garment: the Breton fisherman sweater.
Made with a tight-knit wool from the salt marsh sheep, water resistant and warm, the “chandail” (as it came to be known) owes its name to a side business of Breton and Norman fishermen. Between fishing seasons in the North Atlantic, the French coast fishermen crossed the Channel to sell garlic on the south coast of England. They announced their presence by shouting, "Marchand d'ail! Marchand d'ail!" (Garlic merchant! Garlic merchant!), and the British would hear "… chand'ail, chand'ail!" (... sweater, sweater! ). This is how the name of the iconic SAINT JAMES garment was born.
During this time, the Breton fisherman jumper was worn by all Terre-Nuevas, those sailors who went fishing for cod in the North Atlantic, off the coast of Canada, on the banks of Newfoundland.
Estos pescadores se enfrentaban a 6 o 7 meses de condiciones extremas, desafiando el mal tiempo, el mar agitado y el duro trabajo. El jersey tenía que protegerlesdel frío sin dificultar sus movimientos para no complicar las maniobras en los barcos.
A lo largo, y durante el desarrollo, del presente siglo, el estilo se convertiría en un clásico entre los franceses y los principales diseñadores de moda.
Let's take a step back in time: here we are in 1950, in post-war France. Julien Bonte takes over the SAINT JAMES spinning mills and decides to modernize the company and refocus its activities.
Selling balls of yarn and skeins is a thing of the past. From now on, SAINT JAMES is concentrating on the manufacture of the "Vrai Pull Marin" (Genuine Fisherman Sweater), a name actually registered by the brand. This strategic decision propels the company to the rank of "French leader in nautical knitwear."
Las vacaciones pagadas, establecidas por primera vez en 1936 en dos semanas al año, se amplían: los franceses pueden ahora irse de vacaciones durante tres semanas.
La ampliacion y generalización de las vacaciones pagadas, animaron a los franceses a disfrutar mas de ellas, y pasar los veranos junto al mar. Esta tendencia continuo durante los años 70, tras la aprobación de la cuarta semana de vacaciones pagadas y los vientos de libertad que soplaban tras el mayo de 1968.
Desde el Canal de la Mancha hasta el Mediterráneo y la Costa Atlántica, la navegación de recreo atraía cada vez a más veraneantes, que adoptaban con entusiasmo el estilo náutico. En 1972, Bernard Bonte sucedió a su padre Julien Bonte al frente de la empresa, que pasó a llamarse Les Tricots Saint James en 1970.
Bernard Bonte contribuyó a democratizar la ropa de estilo náutico y creó colecciones de temporada que atraían a los franceses de vacaciones. Hasta entonces exclusivamente de punto, las prendas de Saint James comenzaron a introducir tambien otros tejidos. Se crearon nuevas categorías de prendas, como las camisetas y los pantalones.
In 1976 the company, still located in the village of Saint-James, expanded and acquired new offices and workshops. From 1980, the brand started exporting to Japan and then worldwide, benefiting from an international aura.
In 1990, to preserve the company's future and keep jobs in France, as Bernard Bonte wished, the company was bought by its own employees. Yannick Duval chaired the company's management board from then on.
The company reorganized itself, emphasizing teamwork even more, thanks to creating autonomous groups allowing employees to change jobs regularly. SAINT JAMES grew and gained market shares while continuing to expand internationally.
New collections of shirts, pants, and jackets emerged, adopting a "casual chic" nautical style that the brand still perfectly illustrates today. The teams moved to new premises in 1996, before a further expansion five years later. In 2001, the factory and offices spread over 120,000 sq ft.
In 2013, Luc Lesénécal, former deputy CEO of the Isigny Sainte-Mère dairy cooperative, took over the reins of the company, assisted by Patrice Guinebault, former deputy CFO of SAINT JAMES. The brand's clothing seduced designers, and the Breton striped shirt became an iconic piece of French fashion.
Today, SAINT JAMES has more than 300 employees and a network of around 60 stores, of which approximately 30 are wholly-owned. Five new stores open each year, illustrating the continued success of a brand with a strong identity and ancestral textile know-how.
