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Tackled pink
A former rugby player known for his eccentric approach to the game, rugby star Franck Mesnel brings the same irreverence to his upmarket Eden Park clothing brand.
- By Nitin Nair, senior features writer
- Published: 23:23 August 5, 2008
- Franck Mesnel (second from right) with his mates.
- Image Credit: Supplied Picture
A former rugby player known for his eccentric approach to the game, rugby star Franck Mesnel brings the same irreverence to his upmarket Eden Park clothing brand.
A pink bow once shocked the French president, appeared in the pocket of a French fly-half during the first ever Rugby World Cup final, became the irreverent symbol of a French rugby club's eccentricity and went on to become the emblem of an upmarket French fashion house.
Now greying at the temples, Franck Mesnel grins knowingly. He has a part to play in all these stories.
He was the fly-half who stepped up to face the All Blacks' haka, one of the sport's most intimidating sights, in the 1987 World Cup rugby final with a pink bow tie in his pocket; he was part of a flamboyant set of players called Le Show-bizz who brought flair and substance to the world of French rugby.
And towards the end of his playing days, Mesnel created Eden Park, a high end fashion line that does for rugby what Ralph Lauren did for polo.
What's with the pink bow tie? Why pink in a sport that should inspire colours like black and blue? Back in the mid '80s, France's most famous rugby club, Racing Club De France, had hit a purple patch thanks to the heroics of a clutch of talented players - Eric Blanc, Philippe Gillard, Jean-Baptiste Lafond, Yvon Rousset and Mesnel.
Now these players, nicknamed Le Show-bizz not only took the club to the pinnacle of the sport in the country, but also had some fun along the way.
In a sport known for its staid and prosaic characters, Le Show-bizz stood out because of their antics. They would step out to play in Basque berets, bald caps, black make-up, in long pink underpants and on more than one occasion in pink bow ties.
"We injected some much-needed fun in to the sport. We knew we were good, so we could afford to go a little crazy and get away with it," recalls Mesnel, who was in Dubai recently visiting his Eden Park outlet at Dubai Festival City.
"Pink is the last colour associated with a macho sport like rugby. So imagine the cheek when we ran on to the pitch wearing pink bow ties a week later," laughs the 47-year-old Mesnel.
In a 1990 final against RC Toulon, LaFond even presented a pink bow to French president Francois Mitterrand, much to the latter's surprise.
By then, the cult of the pink bow-tie had become so popular that Mesnel and Blanc decided to "put the bow-tie on garments."
The duo wanted their Eden Park brand, named after the Eden Park ground in New Zealand, to reflect the values that made Le Show-bizz so popular - fantaisie dans la riguer (eccentricity with precision) and resonate with elements from the game's heritage.
So the clothes sport oval-shaped button designs, the club stripes are seen on jerseys and make subtle appearances on blazers, jackets and coats. And the designers are not scared of using the colour pink.
How difficult is it to make the transition from being a sportsman to the owner of a fashion line?
"A brand can become old very quickly. To keep abreast with the latest fashion trends is a challenge. The big task for us was to ensure that the brand had a unique identity and was true to the spirit of the sport," says Mesnel.
Today, the brand has five separate clothing lines for men, and ranges for women and children with shops in England, France, Hong Kong and outlets planned for Kuwait and Qatar and a second outlet in Dubai Mall.
Would he have traded any of this for a different scoreline at the end of that final in 1987 against the All Blacks? "No, I was just glad that I played the final," replies Mesnel, who played in the World Cup just a year after making his debut for the national team.
"I was never short on confidence when I took the team against any opposition, but the All Blacks were something else. They played with such flair that it was difficult not to be overawed by their performance at times."
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