A brand defined by its resilience in the face of adversity, Armor Lux was born in Quimper during the dawn of WWII. The legacy left by a young Swiss industrialist named Walter Hubacher, his love affair with the Brittany coastline took him on a journey along the route to Brest, founding La Bonneterie d’Armor, specialising in undergarments for the war effort and expanding into a full clothing line for men and women by the end of 1947.

This next step marks the start of the brand as we know it today; a Brittany-based manufacturer with a strong focus on high-quality craftsmanship. But, just as the brand started to grow in notoriety, a national textile shortage in the 1960s threatened to see the end of the historical atelier. It was two Finisterre friends that took on the challenge of championing the Armor Lux legacy when Jean-Guy Flock & Michel Guéguen took over the brand in 1993 with one mission – to support and celebrate unique Breton savoir-faire.

A return to full production was in swing when serious flooding forced the factory to move. Coming back strong at their new, state of the art atelier, Armor Lux moved into its next phase of transformation – workwear. Now the signature uniform for the French postal service, rail service (SNCF) and the supermarket chain Carrefour, the once small-scale brand celebrates international success – providing jobs for over 550 people across three factories and 60 stores nationwide.

Today, the brand continues to evolve and develop to the pace of modern living, pioneering the highest environmental and ethical standards across the supply chain. Collaborating with tomorrow’s eponyms across all creative practices, the brand has also teamed up with fellow French labels like JOTT and Faguo, ensuring their iconic stripe continues to be a vehicle for creative opportunity and dedicated research.Armor Lux proves that success stories don’t always run smooth, but perseverance lasts a lifetime.

Today, Armor Lux has three factories based in the region that account for all stages of the manufacturing process – from weaving to embroidery and even dyeing. Two of these factories are dedicated to the fine art of knitwear, home to the secret techniques used to create their infamous mariner. Their third site, based in Troyes, specialises in ribbed knitwear, and in total, the three factories account for over 40% of all the pieces available in the Armor Lux collection (with the rest produced exclusively in Europe).

Brittany is at the heart of the design process at Armor Lux. The unique savoir-faire, colours and everyday nuances of the region are reflected in the pieces that are created by their team of independent designers. In a constant state of creativity, the brand creates over 1500 new pieces each year.

Home to two sites in Quimper, pieces are woven and dyed at the Hippodrome and, close to Kerdroniou, the brand’s latest atelier (opened in 2004) is dedicated to pattern cutting and quality control. A proud standard bearer for historical design and production, ateliers are renowned for their specialised savoir-faire and circular production methods – crafting a range of t-shirt, polos, knitted undergarments and, of course, the iconic Breton striped mariner.

Since 1971, Armor Lux has paid special attention to the quality of its products, thanks in large part to its in-house quality control and production methods. Armor Lux has its own testing and analytical laboratory specialized in the control and development of textiles (LAD). Since 2011, the laboratory has been accredited by the COFRAC with a laboratory dedicated to testing all of its products for physical and chemical components. Thanks to the brand’s investment in research & development, Armor is a leading force in the sustainable fashion sphere, coupled with a commitment to high safety standards for its workers and exemplary environmental values.