Argot - Pre Spring 2019

Our new Pre Spring 18 collection Argot is inspired by a little unknown Parisian brotherhood

Our Argot
Argot is a term with a variety of meanings but a common thread through all the definition is understanding what is on the inside. It is the culture you create in different societies including the way you talk, your dialect and the way you use words. It is a unique way of communicating and associating with each other that creates a special kind of brotherhood.

For us, it is a way to stand out and create your own paradigm. Your Argot becomes your barcode with which you can be identified by certain people and certain areas just by hearing your speech. This is the ultimate brotherhood; you cannot escape your Argot and you do not want to!

Our Argot comes from the Parisian underground network and the community of daring young Parisians “living” beneath the surface.

There is a certain romantic hue to the damp stone walls lining the corridors in Paris’ underground network of tunnels and hollowed-out shelters. It is a far cry from the Eiffel Tower and in no way rivals the luminosity of the Sacre Coeur or the grandeur of the Arc de Triomphe. Yet it represents Paris in a way that few other historical monuments in the city can. The number of people that have touched those walls and have trodden in those tunnels is incredibly limited, and yet the history of Paris is intrinsically linked to these claustrophobic, dark, enclosed spaces.

Our inspirational sources

As inspiration for our Argot collection we looked deeply into this community and tried to understand the beauty they experience on the excursions underground. Underneath southern Paris there are more than 200 km of these tunnels which all interlink, despite numerous collapses and manmade blockades. Some of the tunnels are like well protected pieces of history where you walk directly back in time. It is here that we found the main inspiration for the HW18 Argot collection.

Everything from the colours we have chosen and patterns used to the patches we have designed are inspired by the excursions of this brotherhood and their Argot.

The colours are inspired by the dark catacombs and orange stones. We have chosen to work with a deep and warm nuance of orange of the stones, which is prevalent in the tunnels. It has a beautiful warm feeling to it which will be perfect for the high winter season. We also work a lot with deep green and light brown colours coming from the underground train stations, where you find epic mosaics. Just like today’s Paris, the old Parisians knew how to decorate their city.

In the collection, we use a lot of different patterns that are unified in their simplicity and logic structure. It all comes from the underground networks seen from above as a map. The way they run along and cross each other creates some interesting designs which you have not seen before.

On multiple styles in the HW18 collection, we have attached patches in all sizes heavily inspired by the look of signs in the closed down train stations. The simplicity of the time mixed the beautiful colours of these mosaic signs have been fantastic to explore. It gave us inspiration for the way we think of patches and logos.

All these impressions from the life of these little known societies combined with some classic Les Deux identity have helped us create an interesting collection.