Fabien Galthié has been appearing for several years with a pair of dark glasses that does not go unnoticed. A sports model, created by a French manufacturer, that the coach of the Blues will wear during the 2023 World Cup.
They are now part of French pop culture. Far beyond the world of the oval. Since 2020, Fabien Galthié has worn particularly large black glasses, which give him an original look, halfway between an aviator, a construction site manager and a superhero. An accessory, which has become iconic, that the coach of the French XV wears at every public appearance, in the stands, in training or in interviews. His favorite pair will obviously accompany him during the 2023 World Cup, organized in France from September 8 to October 28. Starting with the opening match against the All Blacks, this Friday at the Stade de France (9:15 p.m.).
After experimenting with several models, when his eyesight deteriorated at the end of the 2010s, the former coach of Stade Français and Montpellier opted for this bulky pair three years ago. An optician from the Toulon region would have advised him when he was training the RCT. “These are plastic sports glasses that allow you to run, fall, because I broke all my glasses before. They don’t move, I can play squash, golf, I can run with the ball in training” , explained Galthié at the end of 2020.
A model released around ten years ago
Its famous glasses are manufactured by Opal Demetz, a French company, which markets a specialized range for athletes, amateurs or professionals. Founded in 1950 in Paris, by a former diver and swimmer of good level, Demetz has joined forces with Opal since 2015 to expand its catalog, which today offers models for cycling, skiing, parachuting, sailing, diving, shooting or motoring.
The Galtier pair (unisex) is part of the “Sportstyle” collection. These are the Ros 21, released about ten years ago, whose frame is presented as “light and resistant”. Equipped with adjustable 125mm temples and imposing lenses (58mm long, 35mm wide), they benefit from non-slip support at the nose and cost around a hundred euros.
“He’s the one who highlights the brand the most without wanting to”
At Opal Demetz, we are delighted by this unexpected association with the coach of the Blues, in office since the end of 2019. The company’s managers discovered that Fabien Galthié had adopted their glasses when seeing him on television. “Since then, we have contacted him to equip him as best as possible and understand his requirements (…) We know his eyesight, a little farsighted, astigmatic and presbyopic like everyone else. He is just not necessarily easy to equip in as well as a former rugby player. You have to orient the mount well as for any sportsman”, confided at the Parisian General Manager Gilles Demetz, son of the brand’s founder.
The ex-scrum half, native of Cahors (Lot), is described as an “ordinary” customer, even if he brings additional light thanks to his notoriety. “It’s not our image, but it’s necessarily the one that unintentionally highlights the brand the most,” summarizes Gilles Demetz. “It’s perhaps not a model that respects fashion codes, but It fits his skin perfectly.”
An additional stock in anticipation of the World Cup
On Google, the first search associated with Fabien Galthié is the word “glasses”. In seventh position, we find “vision problem”. This shows the extent to which the model of the 54-year-old technician arouses curiosity. To the point of boosting sales of Ros 21? “We have a small peak the next day or the day after that when it is on TV. It will surely be even more with the World Cup. We took the stock accordingly,” clarified Gilles Demetz.
Within the Galthié family, on the other hand, this unique style is not really unanimous. “My mother doesn’t like it. My children don’t say anything, they are nice to their dad,” laughed the coach of the XV of France when he was questioned on the subject.