WORKER’S BLUES

Sartorial

Liam Jefferies on the iconic French brand Vetra, which has become synonymous with hardy workwear for the last 100 years

In the modern age, no words evoke a chap or chapette’s sense of dread more than the phrase ‘casual dress code’. However, with this overarching informality seen in recent times, no item has been as adapted more from its humble beginnings than the bleu de travail, the French worker’s jacket.

Often distinguished by colour – notably an eye-catching Hydrone blue (an early form of ‘hi-vis’), the worker’s jacket saw its beginnings as purely utilitarian garb, first adopted by railway workers in 1800s France. Manufactured from robust moleskin or cotton, the jacket was intended to bear the brunt of physical work, and was cut in a loose fitting, functional style reminiscent of the sack coat, that is, without any complicated pleating or accoutrement, save for an array of pockets and, notably, sleeves that could be rolled up.

Much like serge de nîmes across the pond, worker’s blues were quickly adopted into life outside the factory floor, and the workwear jacket would be made famous by public personae such as singer Lou Reed, photographer Bill Cunningham and hedge-trimmer Monty Don.

There is one company which has become a byword for the bleu de travail, in fact the very name itself, and that is Vetra of France. The Vetra story begins in 1920s Paris. Edouard Beerens married his wife Constance and, as a wedding present, received the keys to an apron and overalls atelier located on Ile Saint-Louis, in the heart of the city. It is from this workshop that Edouard began to create his range of workwear garments and Vetra was born in 1927. With the growth of the following decade, Monsieur Beerens soon found himself upping sticks and

“The postwar years saw Vetra rise to global renown for its savoir-faire workwear. By the 1960s, some workers unions had even insisted upon Vetra workwear in their contract negotiations, so synonymous had the brand become with qualité, durabilité and longévité”

moving the company to Lambersart in the North of France, where he would design, grade patterns and manage production, while Constance was in charge of sales and shipping. The factory logo was designed by Beerens himself, the name being an amalgamation of the words VETements de TRAvail (which translates literally to ‘workwear’).

By the end of the 1930s, the pair was manufacturing uniforms for the French army, but fate was to intercede on May 19th 1940. As Winston Churchill made his first broadcast to the British people as Prime Minister, Edouard Beerens fled the city, destroying his machines so they couldn’t fall into Nazi hands. All except one, his most expensive and prized REECE buttonhole machine, which was carried in a trailer behind his car to the small town of Le Lude in Western France.

Despite being tracked by the Gestapo, Edouard didn’t waste any time and established his new workshop to begin production from scratch on the uniforms of La Résistance (one of which is now displayed at the Roger Bellon museum in Sarthe). Raw material shortage was an issue, as was the difficulty keeping in touch with clients, whose main concern was to survive. Nonetheless, the workshop continued to produce basic workwear in moleskin and dungaree twill, supplied in half-width folded rolls in cotton and linen.

The postwar years saw Vetra rise to global renown for its savoir-faire workwear. Vetra products would be distributed for decades by specialist stores and marketed to industrial companies, with workers and craftsmen around the country wearing and working in Vetra branded garments. By the 1960s, some workers unions even insisted upon Vetra workwear in their contract negotiations, so synonymous had the brand become with qualité, durabilité and longévité.

In 1964 a new factory was built in the Maineet-Loire department, Western France. It was in these facilities that Claude Beerens, Edouard’s son, implemented the Kanban model of conveyor manufacturing operations, inspired by The Toyota Motor Corporation. This led to the brand’s explosion in production, manufacturing more than 600,000 pieces a year in the 1970s.

For the traditionalist, there is no other option but the genuine five-button cotton twill Hydrone Work Jacket. Still cut and sewn in France using the same methods and materials as their progenitors,

the jacket features two waist pockets, a left breast pocket and hidden inner pocket, so there is plenty of room for tools, nails, a hip flask or two, pipe tobacco and anything else you may need on the instanter. The regular, unstructured fit not only belies the functionality of the garment, but also makes it ideal for year-round layering.

Vetra workwear will soon celebrate its centenary – and the buttonhole machine that was lugged 150 miles during the Beerens’ flight from Paris? It was retired in 2010 after making 895 million buttonholes – Ça marche!

Liam spoke to Edouard Beerens’ Great Grandsons Edouard and Richard Beerens about the brand:

What are the main sources of inspiration or influence for your designs? We draw inspiration from the large history of Vetra’s manufacturing. Vetra made a lot of specific garments for many professions, in various fabrics. Those styles became iconic and Vetra, as the genuine brand of workwear, has the know-how and the legitimacy to make them again, for today’s wear. Vetra epitomizes French workwear through its authentic history and its

factory manufacturing 100% in France since 1927. As workwear had to be a functional garment, any cuts, sewing, buttons, pockets, had a function and a history, depending on the job, that we are almost the last ones to know or remember. It is impossible to steal our soul and our true savoir-faire of French workwear manufacture.

How do you source your materials? We have a large ‘library’ of fabrics, the knowledge of what has been done during 90 years, thanks to our countless archives, plus the attendance of fabric fairs provides us with an outlook on modern fabrics. Our fabrics come from Western Europe, from firms like ours, with real know-how.

How important is it that your products are produced in France? Manufacturing in France pertains to our DNA: in the 1990s many brands/competitors believed they had found the panacea by outsourcing their production, an easier way to make profits. It is always easier to launch a brand without the financial burden of a factory. Ten years ago we were the only ones to offer French workwear, including in famous fashion shows; nowadays you have plenty of brands copying our styles, logotype, and business model. Making French workwear in France is above all a matter of consistency. There are very few brands like Vetra, manufacturing garments with sense, history, and quality matching consumers’ expectations for authentic products.

What does the future hold for Vetra? That is the question! We cannot know what the future holds in store. The pandemic was a crazy experience, personally and professionally speaking. Vetra coped with many crises during its long history: the 1930s, WWII and France’s invasion, oil shocks, consumption shift, China’s exports, the 2007 stock market crash, and now COVID-19.

We plan to broaden our range of organic garments, deepen our presence on the web, increase our net of retailers... and keep manufacturing made-in-France genuine French workwear. As long as consumers want bona fide garments, we will respond in kind. n

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