New York Magazine - USA (2020-03-02)

22 THECUT|MARCH2–15, 2020

atsomepointina woman’s journeyto eitherbecome,oravoidbecom-

ing,herownmother,sherealizesthat thepersonwhoraisedhermighthave

actuallyhadgoodtaste.Formyselfanda contingentofwomenI knowwhose

motherslivedinNew Yorkinthe1980sand’90s,thishappenedthemomentwefirst

triedon,andlaterstoleforourselves,ourmothers’agnèsb. snapcardigans.

CreatedbytheFrenchfashiondesignerAgnèsTroubléin 1979 (the“b.”wasforBour-

gois,herfirsthusband),thesnapcardiganis a uniquelyFrenchcombinationofbohe-

mianeaseandbourgeoisausterity,a Chaneljacketmeets a Championhoodiemeets a

babyonesie.Agnès,whois now 78 andoneoftherichestself-madewomeninFrance,

callsit “a child’s garmentforgrown-ups.” Its originswere pragmatic.Atthetime,“I had

long,curlyhair, soI thoughtit wouldbenicetonottake [my sweatshirt]off overmy

head,”Agnès(pronouncedan-yes) tellsme.So shegotouta pairofscissors,cutit up

thefront,andvoilà:herownupdateonthe’50stwinsetshermotherandauntsusedto

wear.“Rightaway,I sketchedthisvery simple,square shape,” shesays.Shethenadded

roomysleeves“to beableto raiseyourarmsandkisssomeone.” The 13 pearlescentsnaps

wereinspiredby18th-century jacketsonstatuesaroundherhometownofVersailles.

Decadeson,thesnapcardigan,anageless,timelesswardrobestaplefromNewYork

toTokyotoParis,is havinga comeback.Thestyle,called“Le Classique,”is stillsoldin

a variety of colorsandpricedat $185,thoughit costs more incashmere orleather.Sales

for“LeClassique”grewby 253 percentin 20 19.“In thepast year, we’vestartedtohave

a differenttypeofclientele,” saystheSohostore’smanager,MaggieNathan.Young

peoplewho“don’t knowwhoagnèsb. is”havefoundthebrand.

Agnèshasneveradvertised,butsheunderstoodinfluencersbeforeanybody

hashtagged,rollingwitheveryonefromJean-MichelBasquiat toHarmonyKorine.

InJanuary,ChloëSevignyannouncedherpregnancyonInstagramwitha photoof

herstomachbulgingoutfroma snapcardigan.(ThephotowastakenbydirectorJim

Jarmusch for a 40th- anniversary exhibition on

the sweater.)

Madeofa sturdycottonfleecefromTroyes,

Fr ance,thesesnapcardiganstendtogetbetter

withagelike a fine,machine-washablewine.So

youreallywanta vintage one.It hasbecomea

pretentiouslyunpretentiousmicrostatussym-

bolpasseddownfrommothersandcoolaunts—

eitherwillinglyorthrougha caseofpermanent

“borrowing.” It’sneithertrendynorparticularly

flattering,butit signalssomethingaboutyou.

“Ican’t explainwhy, butI tendtogetalong

witheveryonewhowearsthiscardigan,”says

AudreyGelman,founderofTheWing.

Youdon’t needcoolparentstobepart ofthe

club.Youcanfindvintage onesoneBay, Etsy,

andPoshmark;many comefromJapan,with

40 agnèsb. retailsitesinTokyo.Fashionde-

signerMikeEckhausfoundhisfirstsnapcar-

diganat a thrift storeinHudsona few yearsago.

Helikedit somuchthat hedesignedhisown

iterationsforEckhausLatta,callingonewitha

curvedrowofsnaps“agnèsb. onacid.”

“Now, I seepeoplewearingit everywhere,”says

illustratorJoanaAvillez,whoinheritedonefrom

hergrandmotherandownsabouta dozen.

Myownmother—who,nottobrag,movedto

Sohointheearly’80s—boughtherfirstblack

snapcardiganat thePrinceStreetstoresimply

becauseit lookedcomfortable.Coincidentally,

herbestfriendalsoboughtone.“Dothey still

sellit?,”MomaskswhenI tellheraboutthis

article.After 25 years,shelost herstoa spill,

soI hadtobuymyown.

Formy generation,thesnapcardiganis an

anchortoanideaofthepast,specificallya time

inNew Yorkwhenordinarypeople,places,and

thingswerefreefromoverwroughtmythologies.

Most important,it’s notfashion.It’sgenuine.As

a friendofa snap-cardigan-wearingfriend,Ele-

naTarchi,age 28,tellsme,“I getfedInstagram

adsforevery newbrandontheplanet, butall

I wantis anothersnapcardigan.” ■ PHOTOGRAPH: © ÉTIENNE GEORGE/COLLECTION CHRISTOPHEL, COURTESY OF AGNÈS B

I T ’ S V I N T A G E

The Legacy Piece

How the snap cardigan became the Chanel

tweed jacket of New York.

By Emilia Petrarca

Charlotte Gainsbourg

wearing a snap

cardigan with her

mother, Jane Birkin,

in the 1988 film

Kung-Fu Master.