What is the point of bleu de travail today?

By now, huge collections of work jackets can be found on the racks of any second-hand market. With the arrival of spring, it's almost impossible to wander through a vintage clothing fair without coming across the bleu de travail. This jacket style has made its way around the world in recent years, starting in France during the Industrial Revolution and then landing, in the 20th century, in artists' studios and later in the wardrobes of Americans, Italians, and anyone who loves vintage. Beyond the color—a bright indigo blue meant to hide stains—the practical pockets used for carrying tools, and the oversized cut, what made the bleu de travail a timeless icon was its resilience—both material and symbolic. It is, in every respect, a garment belonging to the working class, a jacket worn by people who weren’t afraid to get their hands dirty in workshops or out in the streets during protests. That’s why, even though seeing Harry Styles strolling through the streets of Rome and London wearing a version of the bleu de travail is amusing, discovering that brands like The Row have drawn inspiration from its silhouette to create jackets costing €1790 raises some doubts about how well fashion understands historical garments.

The Row

Ralph Lauren

Velasca

Vetements SS16

Prada SS94

Prada SS94

Carhartt

The Row isn’t the only brand to have offered a reinterpretation of the French work jacket, but their price point is certainly unmatched. Brands like Velasca, Polo Ralph Lauren, and SS Daley (who designed the one worn by Mr. Styles) have created other editions of the bleu de travail, with prices ranging from €300 to €700. To follow the trend, Uniqlo released a more affordable version, along with, of course, Zara, Mango, and all the other savvy names in fast fashion. While in SS Daley’s case, one might say the bleu de travail aligns with the brand’s imagery—being a label that tells the story of British class struggle through clothing—it’s a bit more complex to find common ground between the wardrobe of the French proletariat and brands like The Row or Polo Ralph Lauren, for example. Precisely because some brands have tried to rewrite its silhouette and aesthetic, the design of the French work jacket is changing in the collective imagination, as often happens with trends that, instead of drawing from history, end up altering it.

Diego Rivera

Jackson Pollock

Tupac

Carhartt

Lafont

Lafont

Bil Cunningham

Le Mont St Michel

To best understand which bleu de travail most closely resembles the original—the one worn by French laborers, faded and stained, torn but still ready for work—you just have to look at pieces from brands like Le Mont St. Michel, which has been around since 1913, or chat with passionate vintage collectors. According to legend, the fabric should be Moleskine, or a rougher canvas, 100% cotton and made in France; the seams must be sturdy and the buttons made of metal or resin; there are usually three pockets—two large and one smaller on the chest—and a collar that buttons up to the neck. The labels might read names like Adolphe Lafont, Le Mont Saint Michel, or Le Laboureur. Everything from the fit to the design of each button—often concealed to avoid snagging on machinery—makes the bleu de travail not only an icon of its era, a symbol of the industrial revolution that accompanied thousands of workers through their lives, but also an enduring classic. That’s why so many brands are adopting its aesthetic to create a more modern version. There’s nothing wrong with drawing inspiration from silhouettes of the past—after all, vintage has become a constant reference point for many brands—but it must be said that treating the work jacket as a fleeting trend, to be worn for one season and shoved in the closet the next—or worse, thrown away—helps to erase its history. If we truly love vintage clothing, we’d do better to protect its legacy.