Jimu News Reporter Zhan Lin
Recently, with the popularity of the TV series "Flowers", the French men's clothing brand Montagut, which has been dormant for many years, has become famous. Jimu News reporter learned that Montagut sponsored "Flowers", and the window scenes in the play were restored from old photos provided by Montagut. There is also news from the media that Montagut's only store in Shanghai may close. On the afternoon of January 9, Montagut responded to Jimu News reporters that the Shanghai store was only being renovated along with the shopping mall and would maintain normal operations thereafter.
From the late 1980s to the early 1990s, Shanghai was experiencing a wave of reform and opening up. The TV series "Flowers" uses the entrepreneurship, love, and family stories of several protagonists to describe the changes in Shanghai's urban changes and residents' lives during this wave of reform. In the play, as the forefront of national fashion, Sanyang brand T-shirts are the most popular clothing on Nanjing Road in Shanghai.
The narration in the play even brings the then-smash-hit brand Montagut back to reality: “Montagut bright silk T-shirts made in France made most Chinese people start pursuing fashion brands for the first time. The sky-high price of 900 yuan a piece has not deterred the enthusiasm of buyers, but still attracts Chinese people. A flower on the chest has become the standard for the trend-setters of the times."
Flower stills (photo provided by the interviewee)
In the 1990s In the 1990s, Montagut was the representative of fine, high-end men's clothing. In an era when the average monthly salary in Shanghai was 300 yuan, a bright silk T-shirt sold for 900 yuan and was still favored by many men.
Regarding Montagut's appearance in "Flowers", on the afternoon of the 9th, Manager Liang of the Montagut brand planning department told Jimu News reporters that the crew had proactively contacted the company before, and the company's leadership readily agreed to cooperate and subsequently provided costumes to the cast and crew. It also sponsored the filming of TV series.
In order to recreate the store style in the 1990s, the crew found a company to get old photos from that year, restored the windows and the furnishings in the windows, and finally presented the scene in the play.
"Because a TV series once again paid attention to 'Montreal', we think it is because it is the memory of a generation." Manager Liang said, not only "Flowers", but also many previous popular TV series that described the background of the 1990s. , Montagut participated.
In addition, as Montagut continues to be on the hot search, some media reported that the Montagut Shanghai store is about to close. In this regard, Manager Liang explained that Montagut's only store in Shanghai is located in Shanghai Sixth Department Store. Due to the renovation of the mall, its store has also been upgraded and will maintain normal operations in the future.
A still from Montagut’s 1990s commercial film Blossoms (photo provided by interviewee)
Currently, Montagut is opening new physical stores in business districts that meet its positioning, focusing on channel expansion in new first-tier cities such as Chengdu, Chongqing, and Xi’an. It currently plans to open 20 new offline stores in 2024. In addition, the company's new online channels including Tmall, JD.com, Douyin Live and other channels have also taken shape.
Jimu News reporters also learned that due to the layout of diversified online and offline sales channels, Montagut's sales in 2023 increased by 20% compared with the previous year.
(Source: Jimu News)
