Snoopy the fashion icon held in the Paris exhibition

A new exhibition opened on Saturday in Paris, drawing the appearance of Snoopy as a fashion icon. The famous black and white Beagle has been adopted by street clothing brands designers to Haute Couture houses.

The show in the “Hôtel du Grand Veneur” in the neighborhood of Marais is part of the celebrations of the 75th anniversary of the creation of Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the comic team “Peanuts” of the late American illustrator Charles Schulz.

It is the last entry in a competitive fashion samples field but extremely well crowded in the French capital, with the Louvre (“Louvre Couture”) and the Grand Palais (“Dolce & Gabbana”) that currently organize packed exhibitions.

“Since we celebrated our 75th anniversary this year, we thought it would be fun to celebrate the history of the brand with fashion. And where would you do that more but in Paris?” Melissa Menta said of The Peanuts Worldwide Company.

Titled “Snoopy in Style” and that takes place from March 22 to April 5, the free program explains Schulz's intense care in the creation of simple and visually recognizable characters that “would bounce on the page.”

Charlie Brown was initially drawn with just a simple white shirt before Schulz, whose snappy Dress Sense is also celebrated in the program, gave her her characteristic sweater with an irregular strip.

The exhibition is more convincing when exploring how designer collaborations and marketing helped shape Snoopy's cultural legacy. Long before these associations became the norm, these efforts transformed a comic sketch of the 1950s into a global phenomenon.

According to the research carried out by Deloitte consulting for the Peanuts company, 80-90% of people in the United States, Japan and even China recognize Snoopy today.

“Fun”

The iconic ascent of Snoopy of the comic strip to the global fashion slopes and the high -qualification stores must the creative vision of Connie Boucher, the marketing partner of Charles Schulz and the driving force behind the beloved evolution of the Beagle brand.

In the early 1980s, Connie Boucher dreamed of the idea of ​​creating Snoopy dolls and her sister Belle, who skillfully sent them to the best fashion houses worldwide, inviting designers to dress the duo with their exclusive styles.

“Isn't it surprising how the occupied fashion celebrities wanted to assume the challenge of designing attire for diffuse characters with ears and large queues?” It is cited that he says later.

By 1982, there were enough dolls, from Karl Lagerfeld, Fendi or Fan Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, to make a first itinerant exhibition in US cities, London and Paris.

Many are on display in the most striking room of the Paris show, which presents dozens of dolls of this period and others of today.

The Italian fashion house Valentino sent a contribution that sees Belle in a replica of a haute couture outfit that was exhibited in Paris in January this year and includes 15 different fabrics.

“The designers wanted to include Snoopy because they realize the universal message it carries,” Cuador Sarah Andelman, founder of the former Paris Colette boutique, told AFP.

In other places, visitors have an idea of ​​commercial power and global marketing of the figure of Snoopy, which appears in Marc Jacobs coaches, uniqlo t -shirts, Lacoste's padded jackets, Gucci jeans, van shoes and more.

The license agreements come with strict conditions.

“It shouldn't have an X classification, and Snoopy can't smoke or drink alcohol,” Mint explained.

The Peanuts company faces a challenge to keep the petty of Charlie Brown relevant to the new generations so long after its first appearance on October 4, 1950.

Fashion collaborations achieve this, but the aid also comes from the Internet, where the 18,000 “peanut” strips of Schulz are recycled infinitely.

Charles Schulz, who died in 2000, “would be surprised how he took off on social networks,” said his widow Jeannie Schulz to AFP.

By Adam Plowright