Indigo Polka Dot Guardian Bandana

The first “Indian” prints were imported to Europe by the Portuguese in the 16th century. The intensification of commercial relations between the East and the West during the 17th century ensured the triumph of these light fabrics, very resistant to light and washing, with lively and varied decorations. The Indian manufacturing secret is based on the principle of “mordant”, metallic salt printed on the wooden board, which fixes the coloring material on the cotton fiber when the fabric is immersed in a dye bath. Indian manufacturing workshops opened in England, Holland and Switzerland. In a society accustomed to heavy silk and wool fabrics or plain linen fabrics, the success was dazzling. The East India Companies have no difficulty in handling increasingly considerable freight. To face this competition, Louis XIV and Louvois wanted to protect French textile factories. In October 1686, a decree from the King's Council of State prohibited “ cotton canvases painted in India or counterfeited in the kingdom ”. However, the more the ban measures intensify, the more the monarchical power fails to curb this real fashion phenomenon which affects all social classes. A very strong contraband born from this prohibition of which Aix en Provence will be the capital. Despite everything, Indian manufacturing workshops are being created in the region, in Marseille, Le Havre, Rouen or Angers, but can only sell abroad. In Comtat Venaissin (part of present-day Vaucluse), then under the authority of the Pope and thus escaping sovereign laws, manufacturers continued to prosper. This was the rebirth of “indian” fabrics known today as Provençal fabrics. This context was also favorable to Indian factories in Mulhouse, a small independent republic (attached to France in 1798), which acquired a technical and commercial lead until the lifting of prohibition in October 1759, which marked the beginning of the era industrial. The Jouy-en-Josas factory, created by Christophe-Philippe Oberkampf in 1760, became famous for the monochrome motif (“toile de Jouy”) generally representing characters in a rural setting.

Before the First World War there was no specific costume for the guardian. It was Marquis Folco de Baroncelli-Javon (known as Lou Marquès), founder of the Nacioun gardiano in 1904, who codified the current gardian outfit at the request of Frédéric Mistral. In order to give more unity and appearance to the choupo (group of herdsmen in Provençal language) during herdian festivals he imposed the velvet jacket, the mole skin pants (moleskin), the brightly colored shirt with Indian patterns and the Valergues hat.