The tank top, the story of a clothing revolution - Marie Claire
Long considered a popular and then macho attribute, the marcel now carries a queer and feminist image. Many brands use it as a banner for the new sexual revolution, where bodies are revealed, proudly and boldly mixing feminine and masculine.
Few garments convey as many fantasies as the marcel. Invented in the 19th century by Marcel Eisenberg, owner of the Marcel hosiery factory in Roanne, this tank top first dressed workers and farmers, as it is particularly suited for physical work. "Initially, it’s a masculine undergarment not meant to be revealed. It’s a garment that keeps warm and is easy to wash," recalls fashion historian Sophie Lemahieu.
"The marcel is a heterosexual basic that conveys many clichés." - Virgil Lamette and Arthur Ballorin
It is often guessed under a shirt, caricature of the Frenchman with a beret stuck on his head. But the marcel will gradually leave this initial function to settle permanently in our wardrobe.
"In the 1950s, the marcel becomes sultry precisely because it was not meant to be worn in public," adds Sophie Lemahieu. It marks a first shift, where the marcel goes from being an undergarment to clothing, on par with a t-shirt. It even becomes sexy thanks to actors wearing it in numerous films, like Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire.
The history of the marcel does not stop there; in the 1980s, this piece becomes the ultimate macho and virile attribute.
"It conveys the cliché of ultra-strong masculinity; it is used to showcase muscular arms. We all have in mind the image of Sylvester Stallone in Rambo," continues Sophie Lemahieu.
Or that of Archie Andrews and Jughead Jones from the American series Riverdale.
The marcel, a symbol of a sexual revolution
It is only more recently that the marcel has infiltrated the female and LGBTQI+ wardrobe.
"There is a reappropriation of the body today, and the marcel serves to convey a message. It participates in a certain sexual liberation claimed by the queer community, which reclaims a macho attribute. It is one of the few garments that allows men to reveal so much of their bodies. It’s a rather banal piece that nevertheless becomes a strong symbol of counter-culture," details Sophie Lemahieu.
This view is shared by the co-founders of the engaged collective Ballorin. "For us, clothing should highlight the body. We have a genuine activist desire to offer LGBTQI+ individuals bold clothing to express their creativity. And the marcel was a bit of an obvious choice," explain co-founders Virgil Lamette and Arthur Ballorin.
They continue: "the marcel is a heterosexual basic that conveys many clichés, especially of macho men found in Hollywood popular culture. For the queer community, it is as interesting as it is repulsive; there is an ambivalence in this garment that entices and complexes us at the same time. Because there is a lot of pressure around the bodies of gay men."
"With the marcel, men more willingly reveal their bodies, with pride." - Virgil Lamette and Arthur Ballorin.
In recent years, many brands have therefore embraced this basic piece to transform it, rework it, and give it a much stronger, bolder, and sexual image. The Ballorin collective has partnered with the French brand Les Tricots de Marcel, a true institution in the making of this historical garment.
If Ballorin has imagined a particular logo to illustrate this collaboration, the cut has remained traditional. "We wanted to keep the iconic marcel, and it’s one of the pieces from our collection that has worked the best," the co-founders happily report. Proof that this garment has become a wardrobe essential. "With the marcel, men accept to reveal their bodies, with pride; it symbolizes this new sexual revolution of the queer community. It allows cuts that would never have been found before in the male wardrobe. It’s a new form of commitment," believe Virgil Lamette and Arthur Ballorin.
Genderless garment
On his side, Kingsley Gbadegesin, a young designer based in Brooklyn, also redefines a new imagery around the tank top. He describes himself as "a creator working to advance the liberation of the black community, the queer community, and racially marginalized individuals."
Through his label K.ngsley, he offers tank tops with reworked cutouts, asymmetrical straps, and sexy cuts.
"I wear a lot of tank tops, and I usually buy them in the women's section," explains Kingsley Gbadegesin in Vogue US.
"In the 1960s, the marcel is feminist. Women wear it without a bra, like Jane Birkin." - Sophie Lemahieu
"Femininity knows no boundaries. Even if I may look like a cis black man, believe me, the moment I open my mouth, you think: 'Oh, she is one of us,'" he quips.
Across the Atlantic, the French brand Omear also offers a genderless marcel. "Masculine and feminine codes no longer have much place in fashion today. There is a desire to free oneself from dictates," believes Kim Nigay, the brand’s founder.
The marcel, a feminist garment?
Praised by women, men, or non-binary individuals, the marcel now liberates bodies. Except perhaps for women who are still too often victims of bodyshaming.
"In the 1960s, the marcel is feminist. Women wear it without a bra, like Jane Birkin," recalls Sophie Lemahieu. Unfortunately, today, some suffer insults for "daring" to let their nipples show under their tank tops.
Léna Mahfouf experienced this on her Instagram account. "In response to a story where she wore a simple tank top without a bra, internet users took it upon themselves to make inappropriate remarks, harassing her for her visible nipples," recalls the media Madmoizelle.
To which the young woman responded: "I think it's important to remind young girls and boys who follow me: you are free to wear whatever you like."
Source: marieclaire.fr - By Published on
