She is honored on December 4. But it is during a whole weekend that the mining area pays homage to the patron saint of miners, firefighters and fireworks. A festival is notably organized from Friday to Sunday in Lens and Liévin and, obviously, Sainte-Barbe will also be honored at the Félix-Bollaert stadium, this Saturday on the occasion of Lens-Lyon (5 p.m.), including an exhibition of mine products and a distribution of rassacache, the typical miners’ dish.
“It’s a strong symbolism that I discovered when I arrived at the club,” explained Franck Haise, the Sang et Or coach at a press conference, relayed by the site Lensois.com. It is strong for the people who experienced work in the mines, for their family, their descendants and it is a strong symbol of what our club should be, in cohesion, effort, generosity. » For the occasion, and as for several years, the RCL will wear a special jersey, designed for three years by an independent designer, Soto Minguez, alias SOTÓ, an RCL supporter.
How was this collaboration born between you and RC Lens for this special Sainte-Barbe jersey?
Initially, it’s Puma [équipementier de Lens] who contacted me a little over three years ago. They had seen my work on different sports and clubs. At the very beginning, it was for basketball jerseys, notably the Metropolitans 92, and then immediately, they asked me if I would be interested in making the Lens jersey for Sainte-Barbe, during the season 2021-2022. Plus, I’m a Lens supporter, and I’ll be at the stadium this afternoon, so it was good timing. Puma was happy with the result, the club too, so the operation was repeated.
What were the conditions put by Puma and the club in the design of this jersey?
It’s quite free. Afterwards, there are always indications regarding what Puma does, for example on the shape of the jersey, the possible finishes, such as on the sides, the bottom of the sleeves or the collars, which are very particular. The collar there is this year is a typical Puma collar, it’s not an ordinary polo collar. And this kind of thing is imposed by the equipment manufacturer. On the part of the club, it was quite free, even if there are always small orientations, like on the colors. Over the three years, I had more or less carte blanche.
The only thing that was imperative was that it was a tribute to Saint Barbara and the 90th anniversary of the Bollaert stadium. Certain motifs have been in the club’s charter for two or three years, such as the stained glass window, which represents Saint Barbara herself or the miners’ lamp. I made the other patterns, trying to be as close as possible to the same style, whether on the tower, the slag heaps, the jersey. I also implemented the typography.
Were there a lot of changes between the first version you proposed and the final version?
A few, in terms of tailoring, and small details, but nothing huge. The collaboration with the club and Puma is very pleasant on this point. I proposed two different colors, and green was chosen.
How far in advance do you prepare this swimsuit?
I cannot reveal everything on this point, but obviously for several months, because there is the design time, the validation and modification time, the prototype time and then the manufacturing time. It goes without saying that we cannot reveal anything before the club and/or the equipment manufacturer reveals it. Besides, I’m still waiting for the day after the [divulgation] to talk about it. What’s “funny” is reading, several days or even weeks before, the various tweets (Xos, now) announcing that they have reliable sources on said jersey, and knowing that they are completely wrong.
Isn’t it complicated to find a new design after three years for this very special event?
As many clubs as there are, it’s a little more complicated, because the history is less rich. But, in Lens and the mining area, the history is very rich. I have ideas for quite a few years.
How does it feel to be in the stadium and see the players with “your” jersey?
It’s interesting and glorifying, especially since over the previous two years, the match went well. It was truly the gala match of the season, because each time it was against Paris Saint-Germain. At the time, I don’t really realize it, actually. Until a week after the match, it’s hard for me to realize that’s what I did. With the return of people, those who tag me, I become aware, but it is mainly in the aftermath. I try to put myself back in my child’s skin and say to myself: twenty-eight years ago, when I went to see a match at Bollaert for the first time, if someone had told me that the guys would wear a day your swimsuit, it would have done something to me.