Snoopy, the famous black-and-white dog, and the world of Peanuts are celebrating their 75th anniversary with an exhibition at the Hôtel du Grand Veneur, in the trendy Marais district of central Paris, focusing on the links between these cult characters and fashion. Like Tintin, the Peanuts universe, created by Charles Schulz (1922-2000), has given rise to many scholarly interpretations – as evidenced by the numerous dissertations and theses devoted to it.
Among the pieces on display is Jean-Charles de Castelbajac's famous coat, designed for his autumn-winter 1989-1990 show and made up of dozens of Snoopy stuffed animals. The relationship between the French designer and the American cartoonist dates back to 1981. Castelbajac, then artistic director of Iceberg, concocted sweaters adorned with cartoon and comic strip characters, including the famous philosopher dog. This gesture of "indiscipline," as he called it, marked the explosion of cartoons into fashion. "I wanted to give knitwear an iconoclastic dimension and summon pop culture icons. I really liked Snoopy. This gave rise to the first copyrights, because, at the time, reappropriation work didn't exist."
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