History of Indian women:
"Indian" fabrics are painted or printed textiles manufactured in Europe between the 17th and 19th centuries. The name "Indian" comes from the trading posts in India from which they were initially imported. In India, textile printing is a craft with millennia-old expertise passed down through generations. The first "Indian" prints were imported to Europe by the Portuguese in the 16th century. The intensification of trade between East and West during the 17th century ensured the triumph of these lightweight fabrics, highly resistant to light and washing, and featuring vibrant and varied designs. The secret to the Indian fabric's manufacture lies in the principle of the "mordant," a metallic salt imprinted with a wooden block, which fixes the dye to the cotton fibers when the fabric is immersed in a dye bath. Indian printing workshops opened in England, Holland, and Switzerland. In a society accustomed to heavy silk and wool fabrics or plain linen, the success was meteoric. The East India Companies had no trouble selling increasingly large quantities of goods. To counter this competition, Louis XIV and Louvois sought to protect French textile manufacturers. In October 1686, a decree from the King's Council of State prohibited "cotton fabrics dyed in India or counterfeited in the kingdom." However, the more the prohibitions intensified, the more the monarchy failed to stem this veritable fashion phenomenon that affected all social classes. A thriving black market emerged from this prohibition, with Aix-en-Provence as its capital. Despite this, printed cotton workshops were established in France, in Marseille, Le Havre, Rouen, and Angers, but could only sell abroad. In the Comtat Venaissin (part of present-day Vaucluse), then under papal authority and thus exempt from royal laws, manufacturers continued to prosper. This marked the revival of "indiennes," known today as Provençal fabrics. This context was also favorable to the printed cotton factories in Mulhouse, a small independent republic (annexed to France in 1798), which gained a technical and commercial advantage until the lifting of the prohibition in October 1759, marking the beginning of the industrial era. The Jouy-en-Josas factory, founded by Christophe-Philippe Oberkampf in 1760, became famous for its monochrome pattern ("Toile de Jouy"), generally depicting figures in a pastoral setting.
History of the Gardian fashion:
The gardian (a word of Provençal origin) is the guardian of a Camargue herd, that is, a herd of bulls or horses raised in semi-freedom and belonging to a manadier (breeder). In the rural world of 19th-century France, the gardian was simply a mounted herdsman and dressed like the peasants of the time. Before the First World War, there was no specific gardian costume. It was Marquis Folco de Baroncelli-Javon (known as Lou Marquès), founder of the Nacioun Gardiano in 1904, who, at the request of Frédéric Mistral, codified the current gardian attire. In order to give more unity and style to the choupo (group of gardians in Provençal) during gardian festivals, he mandated the velvet jacket, moleskin trousers, a brightly colored shirt with Indian motifs, and the valergues hat.
