THE MARCEL TANK TOP VOTED A FRENCH CULT OBJECT BY ÉDITIONS OUEST FRANCE
Worn under a shirt or proudly displayed to highlight the biceps and pectorals, the Marcel suits everyone: the cold-sensitive and cozy folks who appreciate the comfort and warmth of this lightweight tank top, athletes and all those buff individuals, but also gardeners, bakers, dancers, construction workers, joggers, and those who enjoy feeling free in their movements. It was actually the warehouse workers of the Halles de Paris, the famous "forts des halles," who sparked the trend of the sleeveless wool sweater in the 1860s, as the tank top made it easier to carry heavy loads on their shoulders. The trend spread quickly, and a knitwear manufacturer from Roanne, Marcel Eisenberg, ventured into the industrial production of sleeveless skin knitwear: his first name, which he used as his brand name, thus became the name of the flagship product on which the entrepreneur had staked everything.
The white tank top that protects the torso from the cold and wind is part of the gear of Poilus in the trenches. Its lightness also suits summer vacationers, who increased in number thanks to the establishment of paid vacations in the 1930s. The Marcel would thus experience its golden age from the 1930s to the 1970s, during which even movie stars flaunted it, from Raimu in The Baker's Wife to Belmondo in The Professional and Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire. Roanne, a quiet town on the banks of the Loire, transformed over several decades into the capital of the Marcel, an undergarment that had conquered all continents and seemed unshakeable. That was without counting the strange 1990s during which the Marcel was wrongly considered "working-class" and went out of fashion.
The beautiful story could have ended abruptly in 1990, with the closure of the last factory, but the Marcel had a Sleeping Beauty destiny: it took a Roanne entrepreneur, Thomas Sardi, to pick up the torch for it to rise from its ashes, with variations in twelve shades and limited-edition collections.
