History and evolution of the béret The most popular French accessory has a long story to discover
Lily Collins' red beret in Emily in Paris rekindled a passion for French headwear in pop culture. It has also been frequently mentioned on the French maisons catwalks of Chanel and Dior, and is nowadays making a huge comeback. Considered as the French national hat until recently, it is one of the most popular and recognizable hats in the world that cyclically resurfaces in fashion able to add a brisk and artsy accent to a look that never goes out of style.
In winter its canonical composition in 100% wool makes it ideal for layering up without giving up being noticed. Béret is often connected to a stereotypical imagery of a Paris steeped in art and fashion, but also unexpectedly common in the French countryside among farmers, especially male. The unusual duplicity of the béret has historical roots, starting back in 400 AD with the first spread of the headgear. The iconic hat is much more than a fashion statement, and was in the past a symbol of political and national identity.
Historical notes
Influenced by the elegant French style of the early 20th century, movie divas such as Audrey Hepbrun, Brigitte Bardot and Catherine Deneuve brought béret to Hollywood. But Fane Dunaway was the one who internationally christened it as an iconic accessory, representative of a powerful femininity lover of all things dangerous, when playing Bonnie in the iconic “Bonnie and Clyde” movie. The hat was symbol of a decade rich of fashion and politics bonds, and also appears in The Queen’s Gambit, the '60s reverent hyper-successful Netflix series, where Anna Taylor Joy wears it in the last episode. Madonna wore a red béret red in one of her first shoots of the 1980s for the promotion of the Strike a Pose album, and gave birth to a real underground passion for the French hat. In the '90s it was the favorite accessory of Clueless’s protagonist and to current date there are many showbiz figures who love it. From catwalk divas such as Kendall Jenner to female top performers such as Beyoncè, Rihanna and Jlo, especially Cardi B (who is a huge fan of French fashion), lots of celebs chose a béret to add a playful accent to their red carpet look. This year we saw it coming back in shops thanks to Kangol and worn by Kim Kardashian for Kim Jones’s first Dior Men collection, resembling the perfect version of an American in Paris. Are we sure béret’s fame it’s all Emily’s fault?
