- PLEIN SOLEIL SIXTH EDITION 1
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LES DEUX The tale of a t-shirt.
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MENTON’S DUSTY COLOR PALETTE The sunburnt city.
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THE BLUE WAVES OF MENTON Mentons playground.
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THE GREEN GARDENS OF MENTON Relax in the shade of the palm trees.
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PLEIN SOLEIL Spring 2020 campaign.
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LA SALLE DES MARIAGES The Town Hall.
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MENTON’S LEMON GROVES The lemon city.
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Les Deux
LES DEUX The perception of Les Deux has changed a lot throughout the years, understandably, due to the rapid growth of the company. However, in order to truly comprehend the meaning of Les Deux and what we stand for, we want to narrate the story behind.
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Les Deux
Les Deux is the story of a cross-cultural relationship between a political refugee and a preppy boy from the suburbs; two personalities, who were able to inspire each other and embrace diversity. The authenticity of this relationship was carried over into what became Les Deux — a brand created in the unique meeting between mentalities and backgrounds. Our DNA hasn’t changed as we have grown. Les Deux is created and built on differences that have broken boundaries and inspired our development. The brand was born with international roots. The name is French, the founders were from different continents and since the first autumn evening, when Les Deux was established, our ambitions have been international.
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Les Deux
Les Deux has grown from one simple t-shirt to over 200 items available in different colors for each season. Since the beginning, the brand has grown steadily each year and now spans across not only cultural but also national borders, with a presence in around 20 countries. Together, our dreams and indomitable spirit are fueling our expansion. Les Deux is a fresh, authentic brand which strikes the balance between street and preppy apparel. The range is versatile because it resonates with the character of the individual. So whether you’re a businessman or a fashion-conscious young man, Les Deux’s apparel is complimentary. From the very first sketch until the final stitch, love is infused into each detail. It is this very love which makes Les Deux timeless and tailored to every person.
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Menton’s Dusty Color Palette and Materials
MENTON’S DUSTY COLOR PALETTE AND MATERIALS Boasting an exceptional microclimate with 316 cloudless days a year, Menton is one of the warmest places in southern France.
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Menton’s Dusty Color Palette and Materials
A circle of mountains shelters Menton, ensuring that the city isn’t subjected to occasional frost or the violent Mistral, which the rest of the gardens of Provence suffer from. The radiance of the sun and this very special microclimate has an impact on almost every aspect of life, and especially regarding the way people dress. The amount of sun and warm days has made linen a preferred textile in and around Menton, as it allows the body to breathe, is durable and luxurious. In general, the preferred fabrics are light, rather delicate and breathable. The colors of the garments are generally toned down, as darker tones absorb the energy of the light and make it warmer to wear. The sun has an additional effect, as the clothes have been paled by the large amount of sunshine.
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K atz Oran ge
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Menton’s Dusty Color Palette and Materials
Sailing and fishing is a central part of the life around the shores of the Mediterranean, and the sailors soaking up massive amounts of sun on the sea, combined with salt water deteriorating the cotton fabrics, creates a special faded color. In Menton, life also revolves around the beach, where people gather to hang out, eat or relax with friends and family. This blend of sun, sand and salt water is also resulting in a kind of faded and dusty color palette. As the rain rarely pours, the dusty feel is common for the look of the French Riviera, which makes the clothes appear lived-in and authentic. All the buildings of the old part of Menton are made in quite dusty colors, as they have been under the sun for several hundred years.
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The Blue Waves of Menton
The azure blue seafront in menton is a playground, ideal for relaxation and contemplation. On the French Riviera, it is possible to take long walks through grandiose landscapes and combine the bustle of city life with the call of the sea.
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The Blue Waves of Menton
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The Blue Waves of Menton
The word Riviera denotes certain attributes. It speaks to comfort, the quietness of life and exceptional climate. With the mountains of the Alps overlooking it, gently to the west and steep and rocky to the east, the landscape of the Côte d’Azur offers itself to us in a beautiful way. Placed here, Menton i truly framed in the most beautiful way by the ocean, a completely unique view. The Mediterranean Sea, luminous and blue. Cobalt blue according to painters. But this color is not immutable, it is ever changing. The state of the sky, the light, nature and the depths of the sea all have an 22
impact: sometimes it becomes opal, iridescent, pink or even mauve, lit by the rising sun or darkened by the grey threat of a storm cloud. The sea has always been an important aspect of life in Menton. With a mix of small boats designed to enjoy life and fishing boats for the local population to use for work, hogging the marina, you see how the epicures of Menton are capable of slowing down and enjoy life to its fullest. Life at sea gives you the opportunity to be out of view, both near and far from urban tumult. It is in many ways the essence of freedom, the essence of Menton, the essence of blue. 23
The Green Gardens of Menton
The Green Gardens of Menton All around Menton lies the utterly charming and exotic botanical gardens with their soul held intact by the combination of passion and determination.
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The Green Gardens of Menton
Flourished in all shades of green and blooming with life, Menton is the ideal place for botanical gardens to thrive. In the shady avenues and dense foliage, with cool fountains and exotic plants, the gardens of Menton romanticizes the city in a way not seen anywhere else. Disciplined effort was required in order to maintain the demanding gardens. Gardens which have over time gradually gained in size and beauty spanning several fertile hectares today. An artform in itself was created by artist dedicating their whole life to accomplish one masterpiece. A living and eternal landmark created to show the stunning environments from around the world. Elegantly organized chaos, with seeds gathered from across the world, is what gives the gardens soul.
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From Wall to Canvas
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The Green Gardens of Menton
A unification of nature is drawn in from the fertile citrus plantation surrounding the city of Menton combined with seeds from tropical lands. The plants in the botanical gardens hail from China to Mexico, New Zealand to South Africa and numerous more. Many of the plants are endangered or nearly extinct like the Sophora toromiro, a tree that once thrived on the Easter Island has now disappeared entirely from the Island, is today being preserved in the Val Rahmen garden. These plants are notoriously sensitive to the cold and therefor they love the unique microclimate which is found between the mountains and the sea of Menton. Hedges and low walls are used to divide the gardens into discrete areas since the different plants have different needs. Every botanical garden of Menton has its own characteristics and style as a reflection of the men who created them. A personal touch and with inspiration from old and new cultures makes each garden stand out from each other. The green colours of Menton represents a story. A story of men who dedicated their life to accomplish a unique oeuvre. Determent to show the diversity and beauty in nature, and represent it in an elegant way. The Botanical Gardens of Menton stands as a memorial of the men who created them, forever living and an honorable inspiration.
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Plein Soleil
Our new Spring 20 collection Plein Soleil, interpreted as “Only the sun as a witness”, is inspired by the life in and around the French city of Menton in the 1960’s.
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U n Nou veau D ĂŠp art
Menton in the 1960’s was a place defined by the epicure lifestyle. Well off people enjoying the quiet life by the sea, taking their time of to recover from a busy everyday life. Menton was for the people who had put themselves in a good position but in no way had the need to brag about it. In many ways the perfect escape for that times gentleman, without too much attention and with the sun as the only witness to his doings. For the people who came to Menton at this time, the city and its surroundings functioned as the perfect getaway. It could be the busy businessman from New York who takes some time of a couple of times a year to enjoy the city he perceive as his second home. The feeling of visiting their home away from home gets them to relax on a whole other level. They know their way around the city, they know the colors, they know the aromas in the air, they know the locals and have their favourite places to go. This was their perfect escape.
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Plein Soleil
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Plein Soleil
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Plein Soleil
Just like the DNA of Les Deux where the inspiration comes from a dualism where two different cultures meet, the life of Menton offers the same. Menton was in many ways the contrast to the self-promoting lifestyle many of these people lived back home. The city of Menton was used as a free space for them. Here nobody cared who they were and couldn’t care less what they were doing, doing the day. Here it was only the sun who witnessed what they where doing and it was all fine with the people coming here. If you visit the cities around Menton such as Monaco and Nice there is an almost vulgar need for showing off. Here wealthy people who are used to a flamboyant lifestyle, where showing off and other people’s admiration of them is what gives them the boost to continue their superficial lifestyle, seek to. Menton is in every aspect of that lifestyle the complete opposite. Menton is all about living a quiet life where the people stick to themselves and the people they know. In many ways Menton was and still is the most classy and understated city of the French Riviera.
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Plein Soleil
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Plein Soleil
In our Spring 20 collection we get our inspiration from the city of Menton and the people enjoying life there. We are inspired by this contrasting life where successful and self-promoting people travels far away to live a life away from all the attention. We find the inspiration in the calm and stylish Menton combined with the quality conscious lifestyle they bring with them from back home. Through focusing on this contrast we have managed to create one of the most interesting collection to date. All around the beautiful city of Menton you find a dusty color palette which have been included in the collection. Green botanical gardens, yellow lemon groves, blue waves from the seaside, beautiful light brown buildings etc. Menton has everything to offer when it comes to colors which we have captured in this collections.
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Plein Soleil
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Plein Soleil
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Plein Soleil
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Plein Soleil
Focusing on the materials of the 1960’s Menton they were characterized by being made in high-quality and lightweight materials. That made linen the preferred textile in and around Menton during that time, which we of course have worked with beside other light materials for the body to breathe. We have tried to create a durable and luxurious feeling through the materials which will function perfectly during the summer. We have always build up our collections with focusing on inspiring contrast, just like the way Les Deux started, it is in our DNA. Combined with a variety of seasonal influences, we make sure to always keep our style DNA up to date. For each collection we’re inspired by an event, a special time in history or a community. We focus on the things happening in the world and we are inspired by the huge diversity of people. Menton in the 1960’s is the perfect example of diversity where the people enjoying the city brings their self-promoting lifestyle to their free space to go under the radar and blend in. Inspiration from the calm and stylish Menton combined with the quality conscious people going there has been the foundation for this collection.
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Plein Soleil
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La Salle Des Mariages
La Salle Des Mariages In the beautiful pastel colored Town hall of Menton, an equally gorgeous room draws romantic souls from all over France. �La Salle Des Mariages� is the wedding hall of the city, and besides being a substitute for confirming love in a church, it is a wonderful destination for people with an affection for stunning murals and interior.
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La Salle Des Mariages
The French poet, writer and filmmaker Jean Cocteau was a frequent guest on the French Riviera, and when he attended the Classic Film Festival in Menton in 1955, he was delighted by the experience. He then developed an attachment to Menton, and on request from the mayor Cocteau decorated the town’s wedding hall. Hailed as a masterpiece of its kind, the artist created a magnificent setting and everything was designed by the master’s hand. From the murals depicting eternal lovers in a meander line, to the wooden doors patterned with diamond points and the carpets and bronze candelabra, Jean Cocteau was given carte blanche to create a hall befitting matrimony on the Côte D’Azur. The artist Cocteau stated that he was “tired of ink and the table”, and so he pledged himself to this grandiose endeavour. On the end panel in the hall, the blue and white colours represent the flag of Menton, and the yellow and orange shimmers of the sun signifies the greatness of wedding, like a light and dreamlike vision. This iconic history has made La Salle Des Mariages one of the most sought-after wedding halls in France, and a charming pearl for local residents and visitors alike.
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La Salle Des Mariages
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The Yellow Tones of Menton’s Lemon Groves
The Yellow Tones of Menton’s Lemon Groves When entering Menton from the seaside the first thing that meets you is the beautiful sight of the old part of the city. Densely built houses going all the way down to the harbourfront welcomes you in.
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The countless hours of sun has bleached all the colours and created a unique scenery and atmosphere you feel as soon as you dock. When stepping onto the harbour a fresh lemon scent meets you straight away and you realise that you just arrived at a very special place. Walking the streets of Menton you find yourself in a unique place with sensual inspiration all over. Beautiful dusty colours meets your eyes wherever you look, where some colours stand out more than others. One of these is a dusty yellow colour which is an integrated part of the city. It is especially visible in the many lemon groves which you find all over and around the city. Beautiful yellow colours in deep and dusty tones looking out from between the trees and melts city and nature together in one. 72
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The Yellow Tones of Menton’s Lemon Groves
Menton was actually the first place in Europe to succeed in growing lemons wherefore it has been a really important tradition for them to maintain for several hundred years. The whole city has a lovely lemon fragrance to it which creates an interesting contrast between the fresh smell and dusty, almost sleepy colours of the city. Walking around in the “yellow” streets of Menton you’ll feel a harmonious atmosphere. You’ll feel the local intimacy and admire the bleached yellow painted buildings which are one of the most charming things about this French coastal city. It appeals to idealism and optimism which is a central part of the DNA living life in cort da zur. The atmosphere with lemon shops which is an enriched cultural experience combined with the feeling from the locals that everything will be alright.
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T h a n k s to
Thanks to Photographers
Daniel Stjerne
Jon Mørck
Writers
Nick Nissen
Sebastian Skøtt Jensen
Peter H. Cliaman
Adam Dahl
Frederik Waagepetersen
Model
Otto Lotz (2PM)
Location
Menton, Southern France
A special thanks to
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The Les Deux family
The city and people of Menton