His artistic touch is stuck on the back of hundreds of thousands of cars. Since he invented it, more than a million stickers have been sold. In his native Finistère, but also everywhere in Brittany, elsewhere in France and even here and there in the world, everyone knows the bigoudène imagined by Xavier Richard. The Breton illustrator had imagined this character with a wide smile and a high traditional headdress for the A l’Aise Breizh brand when it was created in 1998. On Monday, the man who called himself El Globos died at the age of 60 . A real shock for all those who knew him as the announcement of his death was so brutal.
This independent designer became known in the 1990s when he participated in the creation of the Tamaris festival, for which he obviously created the posters. He practiced there with his cousin Jean-Philippe Quignon, died in 2012. Xavier Richard quickly found “a leg” recognizable among many others. “His drawings were like him, full of humor and kindness. Xavier was a tireless person, who always had two ideas at the minute,” says Erwan Creac’h.
“I immediately chose this bigoudène”
In 1996, the Breton entrepreneur immediately thought of El Globos when he was looking for a logo to launch his brand A l’Aise Breizh. “Xavier arrived with three or four drawings. There was this bigoudène, I chose it straight away. It was his idea, he created everything from A to Z,” continues the founder of ALB.
The sticker quickly became one of the symbols of Brittany, alongside the ermine, the triskelion and the Gwenn ha du. “A lot of people didn’t even know it was a brand,” assures Erwan Creac’h, very affected by the death of his long-time friend.
Although he is well known for his bigoudène, Xavier Richard has also left his mark on many other events, particularly cultural ones. Passionate about music, the man who became the father of a little boy six years ago collaborated for years with the Vieilles Charrues festival, for which he created numerous posters and cups. “A true centerpiece of Les Charrues, he left an indelible mark on the festival through his posters. We are deeply saddened by his loss, and proud to have collaborated with such a talented designer,” the festival reacted on its networks. The man had also collaborated with Hénaff for the design of pâté boxes or even with the Coreff brewery.