Return to the past
ALPHA 01 revisits the "sewn-down collar", the first shirt ever edited by the brand and its undisputed best seller. The shirt was part of the first collection of 8 shirts jointly launched at Maria Luisa, "Galeries Lafayette" and "Le Bon Marché" in Paris as well as Bergdorf Goodman in New-York in 2004.
Alain drew his inspiration from the "Danton" (or "Miami") collars and the more common button-down collars. His creative intent: a collar that stands straight no matter what, offer pleasing geometrical shapes and highlights the neckline.
A blank canvas
ALPHA 01 was designed as some sort of blank canvas, a return to what is essential with no eccentricity, pattern or color. We wanted to draw attention to the less visible particularities of a GOSSUIN shirt and especially its unique construction. We further intended to underline GOSSUIN style identity, original collars, strong design without ever being too present.
Making Europe
Once Alain and his sewing machine finished conducting the first tests, it was time for us to find our shirt manufacturing partner. One thing was very clear from the beginning, we wanted to work with a workshop within the European Union, for more control and proximity, a partner that had to be compatible with our values and our vision of quality and finesse.
After a few fairs, a waterfall of emails, a few workshop visits in France and more than 12 prototypes manufactured exclusively by European partners (France, Italy, Portugal, Lithuania, Romania...), we ended up deciding on a partner with a singular process. The process is said to be double-blind, meaning at the time of the selection we did not know neither price nor origin. Our goal: obliterate any prejudices we may have, positive or negative.
We jumped on a plane and went to see for ourselves this little piece of Lithuanian land called Ukmerge where meeting with the staff confirmed our initial choice. This was good progress, but we still had to stabilise the ALPHA 01 style, crystallise the GOSSUIN shirt construction and repeat the selection process with our materials partner: fabric, buttons, labels.
A few months later, we finally reached our goal: a superior quality garment, manufactured to last and way more accessible than its ancestors made exclusively with European partners.
ALPHA 01 was born.
The future is yours
We count on you to give a long a nice life to ALPHA 01. Wear responsibly and make it last. We look forward to your feedbacks, good and bad, to keep perfecting our creations.