Segers NEWS AW22

This year marks exactly 200 years since Marie-Antoine Carême set the standard for how a chef should be dressed at work. For almost 80 of those 200 years, Segers has been working to develop stylish and functional workwear, often inspired by the tradition that originated with Carême’s ideas. In honour of the jacket’s 200th anniversary, Segers is launching a modern chef’s jacket inspired by its origins.

Segers has had a factory in Ukraine since 2003. Specifically in Shumsk, about 200 kilometres east of the city of Lviv.

Production at the Segers factory has continued since the Russian invasion, but what impact has the war had? We speak to Vladimir Banakh, CEO.

You haven’t missed the new serving collection from Segers – All Day Bistro – have you? Serving clothes that conjure up thoughts of a welcoming and vibrant restaurant.

Mia Kinn/Marketing Manager at Segers

1. What are you up to at the moment? We’re opening our long-awaited bakery/ patisserie ‘Socker Sucker’ at Drottninggatan 93 in Stockholm.

2. What is it about pastry that drives you? The creative process and the opportunity to have an outlet for that in our work.

3. Where do you get your inspiration from? Everything and everyone. Travel, restaurant visits, nature, people who inspire us, shapes, colours.

Photographer: Karin Wimark CHEF

4. How do you want people to view you as food creators? As innovative and taste-proof.

5. Where will you be in 5 years’ time? We’ll still be at Socker Sucker – and thriving. Our team will have grown, and we will be one of the top places in Stockholm/Sweden to visit/want to visit.

THE CHEF’S JACKET TURNS 200

This year marks exactly 200 years since Marie-Antoine Carême set the standard for how a chef should be dressed at work. After a sensational career in the kitchens of Emperor Napoleon, the British Prince Regent George IV and the Russian Tsar Nicholas I, among others, he set out his own ideas on how a chef should dress. A style that has endured to the present day.

The chef of kings or the king of chefs – in the case of Marie-Antoine Carême (1784-1833), both claims are equally valid. He was one of the first to produce haute cuisine in fine salons while also becoming one of the very first genuine celebrity chefs, but perhaps it is the chef’s jacket that has become his most-enduring legacy. We spoke about Carême and the history of the chef’s jacket with Øyvind Andersen, an expert in gastronomic history and culinary teacher in everyday life at Hoeggen Ungdomskole in Trondheim.

The white chef’s jacket takes over the world

However, the major commercial breakthrough for Carême’s ideas did not come until the 1870s, when tech nological developments in the textile industry made it possible to massproduce clothes. But unfortunately, Carême never had the opportunity to experience how his ideas would spread around the world, as he passed away at only 48 years old. It is claimed that he ended his days too soon due to the lack of ventilation that was often a problem in the kitchens of the time, due to the smoke and soot from coalfired ranges. But his ideas, drawings and designs were to leave their mark on the culinary world for hundreds of years to come. Not least on Øyvind Andersen.

“Gastronomic history has always interested me and the chef’s uniform has iconic status. I myself am a trained chef and during my studies I was fascinated by why the chef’s uniform looks the way it does and why the head chef’s jacket looked different from my own. He had white buttons, his name embroidered on his jacket, and other details that differed from my jacket. There was always a sug gestion that I wasn’t quite on his level yet. In the 1990s, Norwegian chefs also began experimenting with work clothes, such as black restaurant clothes and wearing the hat at an angle. I remember there were dis cussions in the industry as to whether these kinds of innovations really belonged in the profession. We’d always worn white, hadn’t we?”

A study in white

The 90s passed and Øyvind left the profession to study management and take a Masters in Gastronomy at Le Cordon Bleu in Australia. In the old history books, he discovered both black and white chef’s jackets and felt that something wasn’t right.

“There are many historical myths and reports that only the best chefs were allowed to wear black garments in the kitchen. One example is the very interesting chef and innovator Alexis Soyer, who in 1837 became chef de cuisine at the Reform Club, a private gentlemen’s club in London. The club and the black-clad chef are also men tioned in Jules Verne’s book ‘Around the World in 80 Days’,” says Øyvind.

“My first hypothesis was to refute the myth that the classic chef’s jacket had always been white, but the most interesting thing was really the uniform perspective and the hierarchical sym bols. How do you show that someone holds a higher rank than the others?”

>> Read more at segers.com

Hat (toque blanche)

The tall white hat is about so much more than just keeping hair out of food. The taller the hat, the more experienced the chef.

The trousers

The chef’s trousers are the detail that most often deviates from white. A small checked pattern is effective in hiding the inevitable stains and spills that occur during culinary work.

The apron

Professional chefs tradition ally wore aprons to protect the body from hot spills and naked flames. Traditional aprons usually end just below the knees and are commonly white, black or striped to maintain a consistent style with the rest of the uniform.

The white double-breasted jacket

A traditional chef’s jacket is a doublebreasted jacket made of thick, white cotton fabric to protect the chef. Carême considered the white colour very important because it signalled good hygiene and orderly conditions in the kitchen. The colour also serves a functional purpose. White dissipates heat rather than absorbing it. Convenient when you’re working in a hot kitchen.

IT’S THE DETAILS THAT MAKE A CHEF, ACCORDING TO CARÊME

SEGERS CELEBRATES WITH NEW CHEF’S JACKET

For almost 80 years, Segers has been working to develop stylish and functional workwear, often inspired by the tradition that originated with Carême’s ideas. Now a brand new anniversary jacket is also being launched based on details from the more classic cut.

“The chef’s jacket is a unique work uniform that has an almost iconic place in history. Now as it reaches its 200th anniversary, we’re excited to go back to its roots and see how we can combine tradition with modern function. With our new anniversary jacket, we’ve selected key details from Carême’s ideas and given it a classically elegant look, but with today’s needs and sustainabil ity in focus,” says Peter Frank, Product Manager at Segers.

A modern, sustainable twist on a classic uniform

The new jacket has, among other things, an exclusive, well-tailored fit with stretch jersey details for maximum comfort. Other details, such as a low classic collar and doublebreasted front, also feature. Carême’s stud buttons from the 1800s, on the other hand, have been replaced with easy-to-handle press studs.

“We’ve also expanded our cooperation with textile suppliers to ensure that the product is made from sustainable materials. In this anniversary jacket, we’ve used traceable, recycled polyester, Lyocell from sustainably produced wood and recycled cotton. We’ve also used Tencel, which has helped us reduce CO2 and waste emissions and limited how much energy and water has been used in production,” says Peter.

“We took the past as our starting point and added all our knowledge and experience about sustainability and how today’s chefs want to work in the kitchen.”

1004/1007 CHEF’S JACKET

Long-sleeved chef’s jacket with stretch jersey panels in the sleeves and back for greater ease of movement. This style has a slightly slimmer fit and press studs. XS - 3XL.

Price excl. VAT: €88,95

The Swedish culinary team’s chef’s shirt in comfortable, more eco-friendly TENCEL™ is now available in black. A very popular, modern chef’s shirt with short or long sleeves in a slightly slimmer fit for both men and women. Naturally, it’s part of ‘Segers Green’, a range of durable, sustainable products made from low-environmental impact materials. The right choice both for your comfort and the environment.

1023 CHEF’S SHIRT, MEN’S – BLACK men’s chef’s shirt with short sleeves and a slightly slimmer This design is inspired by a shirt, so rounded at

1026 CHEF’S SHIRT, WOMEN’S – BLACK Modern women’s chef’s shirt with long sleeves and a slightly slimmer fit. This design is inspired by a shirt, so it has a rounded hem and is longer at the back. C34-C50.

FROM WASTE TO ZERO WASTE

Segers’ new Zero Waste set is chef’s clothing produced entirely without fabric waste. Just as chefs aim not to waste any part of their raw ingredients, we at Segers want to avoid wasting any of our own raw material – fabric. In addition, the clothes in the collection are made from wood pulp, waste cotton and traceable recycled polyester.

Fabric is wasted every time garment pieces are cut from fabric before being stitched together. Every single scrap of fabric that is thrown away is a waste of resources. This is especially problematic when it comes to cotton, production of which requires large amounts of water.

To reduce wastage, Segers has developed a new pattern that utilises 99.9% of the fabric area. It also eliminates overproduction, as we can now produce clothes from all the fabric we buy.

New Zero Waste collection

We have created a brand-new collection inspired by the restaurant industry’s zero waste philosophy. Thanks to a new pattern, no fabric is wasted when producing the new collection. A circular flow is created where we utilise textiles that would otherwise have been thrown away.

Shirt and trouser set

The collection will be launched with a short-sleeved V-neck chef’s shirt and matching trousers. The clothes are cool and comfortable to work in and are made of the same quality TENCEL™ fabric as other Tencel garments in the Segers Green range. 400 garments will be released in an exclusive limited edition collection.

Made from waste fabric and recycled plastic waste

The pattern for the Zero Waste set was developed in collaboration with the textile developer [a]industri in Gothenburg. The TENCEL™ fabric from Klopman is in turn made from two different textile fibres.

• 50% REFIBRA™ Mix of wood pulp and cotton scraps

• 50% REPREVE®

Traceable recycled polyester made from plastic waste, among other materials

Smarter fold and recycled paper bags

The garments are folded using a so-called military fold, where the garments are turned in on themselves. This saves packing volume during transport and the garments are then wrapped in a paper sleeve.

The chef’s set, developed using a unique method, was launched in March 2022.

0800 ZERO WASTE SET – BLACK An Asian-inspired chef’s shirt with short sleeves and ¾-length trousers designed for minimal waste in production. Combined with the unique fabric, it offers a product that is comfortable to wear. We take something that has been discarded and create something new from it. XS-XL. Price excl. VAT: €103,95

Segers has had a factory in Ukraine since 2003. Specifically in Shumsk, about 200 kilometres east of the city of Lviv. It produces almost 400,000 garments annually for Segers. The factory is one of 6 units within the Segers group of companies and one of two factories. We want to tell you more about how the factory and staff are being affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“When the war in Ukraine broke out, we thought first and foremost of all our colleagues in Shumsk and focused on doing everything we could to make them feel safe and secure. We also took steps to ensure we could quickly increase production at our other factory in Pakistan, but fortunately we have been able to con tinue production in Ukraine as before,” says Christian Nilsson, CEO of Segers Fabriker AB. “It is, of course, important for our employees and their families to be able to go to work every day despite the war, and we’re pleased at how things are working out,” contin ues Christian.

“We’ve had to change our transport solutions between Ukraine and Estonia and have safeguarded both people and operations at the factory through improved shelters, sand bagged windows, bunkered fuel and invested in back-up generators in case the power goes out, but other wise most things in the factory are actually continuing pretty much as before,” concludes Christian.

Vladimir Banakh has been the CEO of Segers in Ukraine for many years. He tells us that very few people have left the village and the factory to escape and that, on the contrary, there are more people living in Shumsk now than before the war, as it is a small town that is relatively safe.

“We currently have 165 loyal employees who have stayed with us, as we offer better working conditions than other factories, have an owner who really cares about us, and we have faith in the future,” says Vladimir.

“We’ve actually managed to take on a number of new employees who have fled from more vulnerable parts of Ukraine and so we’ve been able to expand capacity with another production line, which is particularly positive as Segers has seen dramati cally increased sales in 2022.”

When we ask Vladimir to describe what everyday life is like in Shumsk, he tells us that air-raid sirens go off all the time, both day and night, and that neighbouring towns have been

bombed, but that Shumsk, which is a small town with no military targets, has fortunately managed to avoid that fate so far.

“When the siren goes off during working hours, we quickly move to a shelter in our basement,” says Vladimir, who also explains that sand bags have been placed as protection in windows.

Vladimir also talks about how the staff are feeling and becomes particularly serious when he explains that Segers has 32 female employees who are deeply concerned, as their husbands, sons or brothers are fully involved in the war.

“There are a lot of strong emotions in the factory. Despair and hatred over being invaded, gratitude for the sup port from Sweden and the West, and hope and confidence that Ukraine will win the war.”

“We help the army with both money and goods that we can produce in our factory, such as trousers, underwear or bed linen for hospital beds.”

PHOTO: MATT RUSSELL

“When the siren goes off during working hours, we quickly move to a shelter in our basement.”

1210 SHIRT WOMEN’S – SAND Normal-fit women’s shirt with bust darts. The shirt has box pleats for range of motion and a nicely shaped hem. XS-3XL. Price excl. VAT: €47,95

CHEFS’ FAVOURITES

Here at Segers we go to work every day to do everything we can to enhance the restaurant experience. This is our mission, which is, of course, shared with the users of our products. With trend-setting chef’s jackets, innovative aprons and comfortable work trousers, chefs and serving staff get smart, stylish, modern and functional work clothes that simply help them perform at their best.

Here are their top favourites from Segers. Do you have the same favourites?

1006 CHEF’S SHIRT ACTION UNISEX A chef’s shirt in a unisex design, inspired by the world of sports. The concealed mesh panel in the back and the thin stretch fabric make this shirt airy and cool. Minimalist design. XXS-3XL excl. VAT: €74,95

4577 BIB APRON SUPPORTIVE –OLIVE GREEN apron with an ergonomically friendly cross-back design with adjustable braces. 75x90 cm. excl.

1024 CHEF’S SHIRT, WOMEN’S – WHITE Modern women’s chef’s shirt with short sleeves and a slightly slimmer fit. This design is inspired by a shirt, so it has a rounded hem and is longer at the back. Sizes C34-50. men’s model

1053 CHEF’S SHIRT, MEN’S – BLACK Modern men’s chef’s jacket with short sleeves and a slightly slimmer fit. Sizes C146-154 are about 5 cm longer in the sleeves and torso. Sizes C40-C70. excl.

2337 BIB APRON

Bib apron in a classic design with a neck strap and a spacious pocket on the right side. 75x110 cm. excl.

NEW SMART FEATURE ON THE BACK!

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