Draft:Ström Paris
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 Ström shop at 16 Rue Chaussée d'Antin, Paris in 1911. | |
| Founded | 1848 in Paris |
|---|---|
| Founder | Olé Olsen Ström |
Ström Paris was a French fashion house specialising in sportswear, particularly for the automobile and aviation industries, active mainly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was founded by the Ström family of Norwegian origin, who had settled in France in 1848..[1].
Maison Ström history
[edit]One of the most inventive sportswear makers of the time[2], Olé Olsen Ström and his sons are credited with pioneering the first automobile sportwear [3],[4] and are closely linked to the invention and popularity of the automobile[5]. Their outfits were worn by racing legends like Alfred Velghe, Léon Théry, Camille Jenatzy, René de Knyff , Joe Tracy, and by aviators such as Blériot, Bréguet, Fournier, Tissandier, Farman, de Lambert Count, Capazza[6],[7]. Clothing made by Ström has been preserved at the Metropolitan Museum in New York[8],[9]and in the Archives de Paris. Ström were awarded medals at the Paris Universal Exhibition in 1900, in the first Automobile fairs held in the world, and at the Saint Louis Universal Exhibition in 1904[10].
Olé Olsen Ström, born in 1827 in Norway, came to France at the age of 21. His establishment, created in 1848, was known as “tailleur scandinave” and catered to the most demanding and exclusive clientele of Paris. His mastery of technique helped cement the reputation of his House[1]. Ström were appointed official purveyors to the King of Sweden and Norway, and to the King of Belgium.
Sportswear era
[edit]
In 1893, Olé Ström’s sons joined the family business[11]. The brothers Gustave Adolphe Ström and Charles Alfred Ström introduced a new chapter in the history of the family firm, by applying their ingenuity and creativity to clothing specially designed for the elite sports of the day: cycling, sailing, as well as automobiles and airplanes at a time when both automobiles and planes were being invented. They held patents for innovations in materials, techniques of making and invention of new garments, such as the Chauffeur’s umbrella (parapluie du chauffeur), a convertible blanket- trouser (couverture-pantalon), a complete outfit for motorcyclists, a lifejacket and a hygienic vest[12]. Ström were official suppliers of clothing to the ACF (Automobile Club of France) in France and its overseas branches[13], the Paris Yacht Club and the Aéro-club of France.
Ström were suppliers of specialised clothing to major scientific and exploratory expeditions such as the French Antarctic expedition lead by Jean-Baptiste Charcot[14], and the world tour undertaken by journalist Gaston Stiegler in 63 days[15] as a challenge to Jules Verne’s “Around the World in 80 days”
Family
[edit]Gustave Ström’s wife was the sister of the Franco-Belgian sportsman Alfred Velghe, who raced under the pseudonym Levegh and was famed for his victories in the 1899 Bordeaux-Biarritz race and the "Large Car" race at the 1900 Olympic Games, held in Paris.
Patents
[edit]1899 - Convertible blanket-trouser
[edit]
The first cars had no heating, or even windows or a roof. It was common for drivers and passengers to use woollen blankets or furs to protect themselves from the elements. In 1899, the Ström brothers (Gustave and Albert) devised and patented[16] a new creation called the ‘trouser blanket’ («couverture-pantalon»), which offered the following advantages:
- It can be used as an ordinary blanket
- It can be attached below the armpits, covering the stomach, belly and legs
- It can be tied around the body at the same time, or rolled up and attached to each leg, leaving them free and independent of each other.
Ström quickly adapted this garment for women so that female drivers could benefit from their invention, which they named 'cover-skirt' («couverture-jupe»)[17]. This garment could also be wrapped around each leg and transformed into trousers.
1901 - Driver's umbrella
[edit]_bpt6k8399088z_4.jpg?lang=en)
In 1901, the Ström brothers invented and patented[18] a garment that offered a simple and innovative solution to the problem of water seeping between the neck and collar of garments designed to protect the wearer from the rain and which they named the ‘driver's umbrella’ «parapluie du chauffeur»[19]
This Ström creation consists of a thin, supple and elastic rubber collar or rubberised fabric, attached to the body of the garment with a collar or seams. The opening of the collar corresponds to the circumference of the wearer's neck, allowing it to be widened with both hands to fit over the head and then to return to the exact shape of the neck without constricting it. This means there are no cracks between the neck and the elasticated collar, and no water can seep through. The body of the garment can be any shape the wearer prefers, but there are no openings, buttons or buttonholes. The fabric used for the body is preferably waterproof, but can vary infinitely in quality and colour.
This garment, known as a chauffeur's umbrella, was also designed for and adopted by a large number of people who had to stay out in the rain (sailors, army officers, hunters, postmen, delivery and collection boys, coachmen, etc.).
Notes and references
[edit]- ^ a b "Le Tailleur Sportif". La Vie Au Grand Air (in French): 27. 1899. Cite error: The named reference ":0" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ Jean Costa (1911). "Our great tailors Maison Ström". L'Écho de Paris (in French): 6.
- ^ "Journal La Presse - La Vie Sportive". www.retronews.fr (in French). 1903.
- ^ "La Presse – La Vie Sportive". www.retronews.fr (in French). 1903. p. 4.
- ^ De Saunier Baudry, Dollfus Charles, De Geoffroy E (1936). Histoire de Locomotion Terrestre, Tome II : La locomotion naturelle, l'attelage, la voiture, le cyclisme, la locomotion mécanique, l'automobile (in French). L'Illustration.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Henri Desgrange (1903). "L'Auto-vélo : automobilisme, cyclisme, athlétisme, yachting, aérostation, escrime, hippisme". Gallica.BNF (in French).
- ^ "Journal Gil Blas". Retronews.fr (in French). 1907. p. 3-4.
- ^ "Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Hat, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Mrs. George B. Wells, 1957". The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1975–1976.
- ^ "Waistcoat, Gift of Jessie Leonard Hill, Charles R. Leonard Jr., and Laura Leonard Ault, 1978". The Metropolitan Museum of Art (in French). 1978.
- ^ J. BENTAYOU (1900). Le Tailleur-coupeur de Paris : revue d'enseignement professionnel. N°57 (in French). Paris: BNF Gallica.
- ^ "Création de G. et A. Ström". Le Radical (in French): 4. 1893.
- ^ "Le parapluie du chauffeur, du soldat, du marin, du pêcheur, de toutes les manifestations sportives". Le Souvenir programme : Journal illustré des fêtes patriotiques (in French). 1904.
- ^ "Course Paris-Madrid". L'Auto-vélo (in French). 1903.
- ^ Charley (1903). "Au pays des fourrures". Le Monde Sportif (in French): 7.
- ^ CH. Jarrost (1902). "De Paris à Saint-Pétersbourg en automobile". Le Français (in French).
- ^ "Brevet couverture-pantalon". INPI (in French). 1899.
- ^ "Mode Automobile". La vie au grand air : Revue illustrée de tous les sports (in French): 804. 1901.
- ^ "Brevet - vêtement dit parapluie Ström". INPI (in French). 1901.
- ^ Edouard Sattler (1904). "Le Parapluie du chauffeur, du soldat, du marin, du chasseur, du pêcheur, de toutes les manifestations sportives". Le Souvenir Programme (in French): 4.