Yves Andrieux and Vincent Jalbert

Yves Andrieux & Vincent Jalbert have been giving life to old military fabric since 2003. Plying their art in their combined workshop gallery in the Marais district of Paris. Finished work is juxtaposed with mountains of raw materials awaiting their miraculous metamorphosis. With a love and passion for recycled antique and military fabrics, the duo refashion flea market finds into sophisticated designs, which wouldn’t look out of place on a Victorian version of Out of Africa. The utilitarian canvas of military tents are beautifully reimagined in structured, almost prudish jackets for women, and paired with riveted and generously pleated canvas skirts. The rich tonality and fading on the well-worn military fabrications make for subtle, complex coordinates, while the addition of delicate embellishment and overprinting adds a softer touch.

Studio and store live happily side-by-side, giving a peak into the creative process, with stacks of antique military fabric and vintage linen piled high. Fabric finds include military tents, parachutes; graphic prints form the 50’s and 60’s as well as antique embroidery. The pair manages to reimagine their motley crew of materials into sophisticated and stylish clothing, bags, cushions, curtains and throws. Their love of military fabrics is palpable through the neatly stacked material stocks. This is slow design at its best, redesign and reuse of otherwise discarded materials, reimagined into exquisite utilitarian, yet stylishly subversive fashion. Fabric waits patiently, sometimes for years before being reimagined into a new life.

With a background in graphic design and fashion design, the partners began their collaboration in 2001. Yves designed window displays for Cacharel, while Vincent sketched for some of the Parisian couture greats, including Balmain. Their connection to the materials and the process has led to a connection with their customers. Invested in the atelier mindset of artisanship, feeds into their work in every aspect. Collections are slowly built and expanded, not entirely changed every season. Presenting their work in their atelier gallery setting has allowed for more of an artistic installation than a purely retail outlet, with their textile reimagining’s spread between clothing, accessories and home goods.

Website: www.vincentjalbert.com/en

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