Longchamp Toile de Jouy

One thing very interesting about Longchamp, and something that all Longchamp owners should rave about, is that it has both timely and timeless pieces.  As you may have noticed, Longchamp has always been in the forefront of pioneering the trends of upcoming seasons, alongside other major fashion brands.  In their previous collections, Longchamp never failed to keep up with the current trends of the season, but at the same time remain a constant hit even after the season passes!  It makes me smile when I see past seasons’ collections still being highly sought after and highly celebrated, even those which were released 10 years or 15 years ago.  Timely and timeless...

Speaking of which, here is a perfect example of one of Longchamp’s beautiful pieces, which can be considered both an artwork and an arm candy.  Released along with the Spring/Summer 2010 collection, the Toile de Jouy collection features a traditional French print that can be attributed deep into the French culture.  The Toile de Jouy collection from Longchamp showcases these rustic scene with French townspeople going about their daily routine – a fisherman fishing beside a lake wearing a hobo bag, the ever-famous le Pliage bag is seen alongside a group of friends using the bag as a picnic basket, a young lad climbing a Cockaigne pole with the Le Piage as the prize hung atop the pole, and of course, some insertions of images of a horse, Longchamp’s trademark logo.

Historically speaking, Toile de Jouy is actually an off-white cloth with pastoral scenes of French townspeople printed on the canvas cloth which was originally manufactured by Christophe-Phillipe Oberkampf from Jouy-en-Jonas, a small town south of Paris, in 1760.  Oberkampf’s original works essentially had these themes printed on the cloth, and most famously came in three colors—black, blue, and grey.  The “Toile”, which is what the Toile de Jouy came to be commonly called, spread its influence onto pattern designs, upholstery, and even wallpapers.

Lonhgchamp’s Toile de Jouy is a quirky yet traditional take of something from the French culture and making it their own design, with a twist.  What’s nice to know is that Longchamp even produced the Toile de Joy collection in the traditional colors that it came in---red, blue, and grey!