Brand’s History
At the beginning
There is a sense of style passed on from father to son. First,
through Charles Bensimon’s grandfather’s thrift store in
Oran, Algeria.
Then, via the largest military surplus at the time,
created by both the father and uncle, Simon and
Emile Bensimon, in Paris.
« I grew up in the
middle of metal-
rimmed army
clothing! »
Serge Bensimon
« The objective is to
create desire
again ; from
second-hand
clothes, from
objects that nobody
wants anymore by
transforming
them.»
Serge Bensimon
How about magic
trick ?
Serge Bensimon joins the thrift store industry and adds his personal touch. Surplus is
good, but with a fashion twist it’s even better! He customizes saharan jackets and parkas,
these pieces cut in beautiful materials and above all functional, to infuse them with a
creative note…
On a side note (and for movie-lovers), they are worn at the feet of one of the
heroines of the film « L’Effrontée » directed by Claude Miller, starring Charlotte
Gainsbourg.
That same year, they received 100,000 white gym
shoes from the French army. And these tennis,
Serge will dye them.
After a real research work and a long
development process, he perfected a technique to
color the canvas without overflowing on the
rubber.
One of the brand’s icons is born
and puts all of Paris at his feet.
In tunes
with
the times
The first Bensimon wardrobe was on the
front page of magazines and embodied
political commitment. Released in the
middle of the Vietnam war, these parkas,
saharan jackets and tennis shoes have a
political impact.
Birth of the Bensimon Surplus
Serge asks his brother Yves to join him to develop the Bensimon Surplus. While
Serge is in charge of the style, Yves is in
charge of the commercial dynamics.
From there on, everything
goes very fast…
The fitted clothes make their entrance… A ready-to-wear line inspired by the military wardrobe and revisited by Serge. Tie and dye washes flood the collection. It was also at this time that Serge made his first commitment: ban the color black from the catalog.
The very first French concept store opened in the Marais. Serge’s wish? To mix fashion and furniture in the same store. You may think it’s commun, but for the time, that is unheard of. He made the most of the opportunity to present handcrafted furniture made by the Pennsylvanian Amish, with whom he also organized a collection to recycle wood from their farms.
For the brand’s 10th
anniversary, Serge and Yves
launched a « B.S. » capsule, a
compilation of their iconic
designs that return season
after season.
The Bensimon tennis shoe is exhibited at Galeries Lafayette. For the
occasion, it is dressed up by the biggest names in fashion. Jean-Paul
Gaultier, Agnès B, Cacharel and more. Did you know it passed through
the House of Chanel and APC design office?
This starting point will lead
the way to many more
collaborations and the first
limited series.
The two brothers gave a hand to their
favorite bookshop, Artazart. It thus
became part of the Bensimon family
stores.
Guided and inspired by art, they naturally
decide to open the S. Bensimon Gallery. A
place where they invite the young
international creation.
An international
craze
Bensimon lays down its hat in the famous
Hong Kong department store « Lane
Crawford » for a pop-up store dedicated
to tennis. Serge Bensimon offers a
selection of objects, artworks and of
course, tennis « East meets the West »
themed.
Seeing tourists filling their suitcases with
pairs of Bensimon tennis shoes, gave us
ideas… Cravings from elsewhere. We opened
our very first store in Japan and more
precisely in Tokyo in February. The craze is
such that we have to open a second store.
For this one, let’s meet in Yokohama. Korea
also succumbs to the Bensimon Autour du
Monde style. To avoid anyone being envious,
a third Asian store opened in Seoul at the
end of the year.
Our iconic tennis is celebrating its 40th anniversary. For
the occasion, 40 international artists have free rein to
color its canvas. These 40 collector pairs will be revealed
and exposed during the tennis retrospective at the Joyce
Gallery. A way for us to look back on the secrets of its
manufacture and on 40 years of know-how and
innovation.
Birth of the
B79
A pair of higher, more urban, more responsible tennis
shoes, available in both high and low versions. An
opportunity to test tomorrow’s materials and
manufacturing techniques that keep on being more and
more planet friendly.
A new image and
style direction
The brand returns to the forefront with a more modern
image and a more eco-responsible design approach.
The essentials of our collections continue to be
revisited, the colors twisted, a brand DNA intact but
more contemporary.
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