PRODUCTION
THE BACKSTORY : Before Paris Knew Heat
In Paris from 1901 to 1932 only a total of 10 nights reached temperatures above 20°C. So France had no need to produce fabrics for nights warmer than room temperature.
Yet from age 10, Eugène Le Moult and his family lived in the AMAZONIAN JUNGLE, where night-time temperatures stayed consistently above 20°C. His father, an organic researcher, responded by importing breathable, durable, soft Indian cotton. On Devil’s Island, these fabrics were tailored into garments suitable for BUTTERFLY HUNTING, humidity, occasional discoveries of pre-Columbian civilisations, and comfortable enough for travel by OCEAN LINER from French Guiana to Le Havre.
Praline inherited her dad's grand-dad's ORIGINAL pieces, and we use with cotton grown on the ORIGINAL fields, woven by descendants of the ORIGINAL weavers into CONTEMPORARY patterns in the ORIGINAL weaves, and which are then stitched into CONTEMPORARY adaptations of the heritage shapes.
Paris, 2024: 70 nights recorded temperatures above 20°C...
photo: Praline LE MOULT
photo: Praline LE MOULT
THE FIELDS : They Supplied the Roman Empire
100% PURE SOUTH-INDIAN COTTON. Grown in fields that have sustainably cultivated cotton SINCE 35 AD, as recorded in Roman trade documents
THE WEAVERS : Since the Time of Christ
WOVEN NEAR THE ORIGIN POINT OF THE PAIJAMA. Our weaving partners are the descendants of the ORIGINAL weavers, English-speaking, unionized, and working in an area where political power has alternated between soft-Left and hard-Left coalitions since 1957... First written records on their community date from the Sangam period (circa 300 BCE–300 CE)...
photo: Praline LE MOULT
photo: Praline LE MOULT
THE ATELIER: Our Partner since 1974
CUT, SEWN AND FINISHED IN BOMBAY. We’ve partnered with the same family-run atelier since the time of our parents. It lies an easy-to-inspect 18 minutes North of the international airport.
THE GARMENT
P.Le Moult clothes are biodegradable¹, regionally made, and historically grounded.
We stay true to the heritage of granddad’s 19th Century eco-pioneer granddad, reduce transport by keeping production within one region and invest in living heritage
¹ We use 100% cotton and mother-of-pearl buttons. The only modern concession: durable nylon thread for the seams. Because we like things to last.
