Petit Bateau marks 100-years of the panty

There are not many brands who can claim they invented something as important, groundbreaking and functional as the modern day underpants. But this is an invention that French heritage brand Petit Bateau takes pride in claiming. It was 100 years ago that Étienne Valton, together with his brothers André and Xavier, heirs to the knitting company Valton & Sons, decided to cut the legs off the 'long-john' undergarments people donned underneath their clothing, thereby creating the first version of the modern-day panty. "The panty was seen as a radical innovation at the time because before then adults and children wore long underwear," explained Patrick Pergament, CEO of Petit Bateau, one of the oldest fashion brands in France. "This innovation happened in a time when women were cutting their hair short and men were shaving off their beards - it was a pivotal time in history when a lot of social changes were taking place, from the way people were dressing and expressing themselves to politics."