Henri Cap

Vincent Blouin and Julien Legras, 5^th Prizze, 2015 call for creation “Aubusson weaves fashion”

With Henri Cap, the two designers decided to revive an ancient motif to dress a very contemporary accessory: the cap.

Instead of simply copying a contemporary motif about the technique of low-warp tapestry, Vincent Blouin and Julien Legras came from the conception of the tapestry as a precious accessory, expression of the kings’ glory and the symbol of their power, and they imagined a work over the crown motif.

Playing with the oppositions and contrasts, they decided to confront this monarchy symbol in form of a cap, both very used in the fashion world and considered as the ultimate modern and democratic accessory. This reflection then gave birth to a hybrid object, representation of the ancient in a new and unexpected form.

3 kings, 3 eras, 3 styles

Henri Cap is actually a collection of three caps. Even if the idea of an opposition between the democratic accessory and the symbol of the monarchist power still lingers within the three pieces, each one of them proposes a particular style through a progression in regards to the complexity of the motif.

With less details and colors, the Henri IV cap plays with monochromatic colors and simplicity. The cap in the style of Louis XIV uses more colors. Finally, the Louis XV cap with the shine of its jewels and its large amount of colors can be perceived as a little more feminine. In these three pieces, the designers took into account one of the fundamental characteristic of the tapestry: the weft play allows different levels of reading in function of the distance in the perception. Observed from far off, the tapestry delivers its message. And when one gets closer, the aesthetics and the virtuosity of the motif are the ones which shine.

With proven experience in scenography, the two artists presented their collection in a peculiar mise en scène, to strengthen the sensation of anachronism provoked by such unexpected pieces.

Julien Legras and Vincent Blouin met at the ENSCI. They are both co-founders of the agency Élément commun.