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Granny Friendly

The French are proud of their heritage, but they like (maybe even more) the idea of defending it against the aggressions of modernity. Wasn’t it better in the past? No wonder that they have a natural tendency to evoke their grandmas. The one of whom they like to say they owe her everything. Often much more than their parents… 

The iconic grandmother is a familiar figure, because brands have quickly understood the advantages they could draw from her. Mamie Nova, Bonne Maman and Tipiak’s grandmothers live in the cupboards of every house. With restaurant owners, grandmas have started to wander on every menu. Grandma’s pâté here, her rice pudding and apple crumble there, when it isn’t Mamma’s lasagna, to give it a local touch. Sometimes they even happen to find themselves in the kitchen…

But it is finally in the wonderful world of fashion that grandmothers are the most present since designers, from Jean Paul Gaultier to Jacquemus, never hesitate to evoke theirs as their muse. Recently, the grandmother trend has intensified, as evidenced by the increase in gray-haired models and the global emotion caused by the death of Queen Elizabeth, now considered an icon.

Some will see it as an antidote to a hyper-technological and connected world. A sign of a desire to go back to the past to find practical and sustainable solutions, by returning to yesterday’s materials and shapes. Others, an umpteenth consequence of lockdown, endless source of explanations. Locked in their homes, young designers had to reconnect with their families and get by with what they had on hand. Two years later, many of their proposals are “granny friendly”: knitting, crochet, cross-stitch, scarf, blouse, panties, apron, long skirt …

Parents are definitely not role models for the current generation (terrible Boomers who took advantage of everything), but we can only notice that only grandmothers are mentioned – never grandfathers. The latter should have other ambitions than to stay in an armchair handing out Werther’s Original candies to their grandchildren. “Grandpa power” is still ahead of us.

So What ?

Against all odds, grandmothers are not easily soluble in modernity. Better still, they could be the origin of neo-modernity. What if the world of tomorrow was behind us?

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