“A color never comes alone; it only finds its meaning and fully ‘works,’ from a social, artistic, or symbolic perspective, when it is associated with or opposed to one or more other colors.” Michel Pastoureau, *Red: The History of a Color*
Who has never carefully chosen the clothing they wanted to wear for a specific event? We marry in white, mourn in black, hope in green, love in red, summer in yellow, the sea in blue, and dreams in purple. It is said that wearing blue helps with calmness (is that why doctors wear blue?), while wearing red helps with persuasion. Green is said to bring bad luck, but what about pink?
Colors have meaning, just like the words we use or the types of knit we choose. We communicate through our clothing and, intrinsically, through the fabrics used in their creation.
October marks the unveiling of our next collection. This year, twenty colors have been carefully selected to allow you to create your most daring collections. Twenty. A round number, like a balloon.
The entire color palette from 2022 has been preserved. These colors thus become part of our timeless collection. Among the most appreciated; Puritan grey, Blue nights, and Pine grove remain the pillars of our brand identity. To complement them, we have chosen new colors that take us out of our comfort zone. Bold, energetic, dynamic colors. Colors that push us to go further, think bigger, and dream more.
Palette des pré-ventes collaboratives 2023
For this collection and in the current context, I wanted to choose a broad theme imbued with positivity, good vibes, and kindness: cultivating joy. Not the mocking or unhealthy joy, but rather the individual and collective joy that drives us to be more creative as a group. I wanted to share with you projects, brands, and ideas whose initiatives are intrinsically linked to the concept of joy.
Of course, the idea did not come to me by chance. It is also the title of the latest Viewpoint colour, Joy.
Travel through color. That’s the program we are offering you today.
"One does not put an end to a feeling, one replaces it with another, stronger, deeper, nobler. We do not confront sadness, we cultivate joy." The lesson of Rosaldine, Mustapha Fahmi
Joy in Activism
« Joy doesn’t betray but sustains activism. And when you face politics that aspire to make you fearful, alienated, isolated, joy is a fine act of insurrection. » Rebecca Solnit
We are often told that the world is doing poorly, that life on the planet is in peril, that we don't have much time left. That we need to drastically reduce our impact, that we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, that we need to consume less.
A lot of 'we must' that sometimes plunge us into inaction.
First comes acceptance. It is important today to recognize all the things mentioned above and to be aware that as individuals, we probably have very little impact on life in the broader sense. Eventually, our individual actions added up could have more weight. But what has the most impact, in my view, are collective actions. But how do we initiate and motivate beings to come together towards a common goal?
And what if the key to action resides in joy?
Finding joy in activism, that is the proposition made by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson.
She starts from a simple observation, putting forward the idea that we are more effective when we act out of joy rather than out of fear or resentment. She invites participants to ask themselves three questions, the answers to which will lead to the solution that will allow us to take action.
Joy is an excellent engine of change. Free energy, the kind that we can consume without moderation.
Since the summer of 2021, I have joined the citizen collective of the Petite Plaza. This is a group of neighbors who have at heart the embellishment and animation of their territory, as well as solidarity and conviviality. First and foremost, they are volunteers who joyfully come together to imagine new ways of living together in their neighborhood. Among the projects, planter boxes have been built on the roof of the CHSLD Au clair (in Rosemont PP) to grow vegetables. These vegetables are then redistributed to the needy families in the neighborhood through the CRACPP.« […] It is possible to move from anger to acceptance and to write a new story that will be meaningful. This breakthrough is a true liberation that allows you to get rid of fear and anger to open up to a more serene horizon.» Pablo Servigne, lors d’une interview donnée au magazine Le Temps
These activities are extremely rewarding, both in terms of the knowledge acquired and from a human point of view. What a joy to see the vegetables and flowers grow, week after week, to water them carefully, to harvest the seeds in the fall and to reopen the gardens in the spring. We will probably not save the planet, but I remain convinced that actions like these allow one to feel useful, provide a lot of joy and allow one to accept the future a little more serenely.
“My activism comes from passion, compassion and love. Not from anger, anxiety, or fear” Satish Kumar, Activiste indien
Collective Joy
The joy of doing together. Hearing the resonance. Understanding the power of voice, of bodies together.
There is a song by feminist activists that I often listen to with pleasure. It is a song sung by multiple women's voices with a very discreet instrumental accompaniment. Without being able to explain exactly how, this song resonates in my chest and diffuses a feeling of strength and belonging.
At the end of this recording, you can hear the participants applauding and laughing together. I believe that this is the part I prefer the most. Laughter and joy are powerful antidepressants that push us to surpass ourselves, to get out of inertia, to feel alive.
Laughter is a communicative element. It brings people together and allows us to connect with one another.
In craftsmanship, there are many activities that were and are still done collectively.
Particularly in the production of fibers and textiles. Out of necessity, of course; setting up a jacquard loom, beating flax to recover the fiber, tending to a cotton field requires the strength and ingenuity of multiple people.
There is, in fabric, and even more so in knitting, the idea of connection. The thread that creates the loops is also the one that binds us to one another, the one that allows us to weave connections, to "knit tightly" as we say. There is also the idea of transmission, of heritage. Of these gestures repeated through the ages and that will continue to be repeated for a long time.
In Québec, a project has particularly caught my attention in recent months. It is the project of Nadia Bunyan, Growing A.R.C.
It is a community of people from all backgrounds who have come together to "activate, return, and cultivate relationships with all beings" through the cultivation of plants such as flax. The project took place this year at the Jean Drapeau Park (Montreal, Canada) and invited participants to gather to play and experiment. The activities were open to everyone and were called "playdate".
"By weaving connections with marginalized communities often excluded from environmental actions and dialogues, the non-profit organization also aims to broaden the understanding of issues and solutions around biodiversity and include a diversity of perspectives and human experiences."
Among the experiments carried out this year, there was the cultivation of flax (whose fibers will be used to weave a cord), the cultivation of dye plants and fragrant plants.
Love
Extract from a text dated July 1, 2021,
I realize today how lucky I am to love and be loved by my family, my friends, the people I work with. There are billions of ways to love. Thinking of love as a revolutionary act is to consider it in all its forms. From the love we have for the people around us to the love we have for our objects, our clothes, the bodies that inhabit them, the everyday gestures, the plants, the Earth and all living things in general.
Taking care of our surroundings, it's being aware of things and people, it's being attentive, learning to give and receive. It's an exchange, a conscious connection to the other and to life.
I think it is necessary today to cultivate this openness so as not to sink into bitterness and sadness, so that life can continue despite everything, so that it is full of surprises and beauty. Yes, I believe we need beauty.
To take care of...
To take care of ourselves. Of you. Of the things and beings that surround us. By taking care, we look at the other differently.
How do the stories we live with our clothes strengthen the attachment we have to them? And if being attached to our clothes were the key to clothes that last?
We maintain intimate relationships with the clothes we wear. They often bear the traces and memories of our experiences.I made this sweater recently. I stained the sleeve with red wine at the cottage with my sister. Accidentally, an accident, the bottle slips out of my hands like so many things in life.
Clothes tell stories, they are the witnesses of the memories of the person who has worn them.
« By transforming our relationship with clothes, we give them value. And this value is convertible on an environmental level. » Hoopal
In terms of emotional durability, we have in Quebec a wonderful team of sewing nurse-practitioners who can take care of our fabric friends. It's called the "Hospital for Fabric Persons" and the team is none other than that of Raplapla, a Montreal-based children's toy brand.
[ Crédit photo Raplapla ]
« Emergencies, eye surgery, detergent overdose, big brother "accident", dryer blow or the ravages of time are healed with humanity by a team of professionals. »
The admission process is simple, you just need to send your fabric companion accompanied by the admission form to get an appointment (guaranteed in the shortest possible time in case of an emergency). Patients of all ages have been cared for at the hospital by Dominique's fairy fingers. The initiative touches everyone, young and old, who send their plush toys for guaranteed care with respect and kindness (of course).
In recent years, we have seen the arrival of new artisans and brands that use scraps and waste from the fashion industry to create new products or garments. I wanted to share with you the initiative of Catherine Kotuiga through her clothing brand Baba conscious fashion. She collects fabrics imbued with stories that she scours on the marketplace to create new garments. Her joy is contagious, you just need to look at her Instagram account to realize it.
[ Crédit photo Baba Mode Consciente ]
And I couldn't really end this article without talking about all those people who offer alternatives to repair your clothes. Whether it's Arounna Khounnoraj, whose repair work you can admire on her Instagram account @bookhou, or the wonderful initiative of Repair Cafés, these places where you are invited to bring your damaged objects and clothes to have them repaired, all these small initiatives are imbued with love and kindness towards the things that surround us in our daily lives.
The final word
Here is the final word. I realize as I finish it that it is very personal, but as everything is interconnected (life, business, personality), it is difficult to do otherwise. So here are a few words to conclude.
Let's create fields of joy, that of the possible.
Let's make the revolution with words of love, let's cultivate joy, let's make desire grow, let's learn always and all the time. Let's love.
