Revel is a former French brand founded in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in 1851 that manufactured luxury

parasol An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy (building), canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is usually designed to protect a person against rain. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionall ...

s largely for the French

expatriates An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. The term often refers to a professional, skilled worker, or student from an affluent country. However, it may also refer to retirees, artists and ...

in the former French colonial empire.

History

Beginning

François Revel, the founder of Revel, arrived in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, France, around 1830. In Lyon, François Revel joined his brother Pierre at Poncet Frères, a manufacturer of umbrellas, as an

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in ...

making high quality umbrellas from

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

fabrics. Following the shutdown of Poncet Frères, François Revel founded his own company on 2 October 1851. Marque Veritas

François Revel’s first silk umbrella manufacturing workshop was located in Lyon, benefiting from the strong regional silk expertise. In 1860, François Revel was joined by his son, Aimé Revel (who was only 16 years old at the time) who often visited customers all over Europe. In 1880, Aimé Revel created the Veritas brand (with a red triangle) and in 1900 he established the brand

Parapluie Revel Parapluie Revel (French, Umbrella Revel) is the former leading brand of the company Revel. In 1922, Revel engaged the famous Italian poster art designer Leonetto Cappiello to create this famous ad representing three people with umbrellas. It wa ...

for French market. Parapluie-Revel : 1851-1951. By François Revel. Lettre de Joseph Revel à François Revel, du 7 mars 1850. Lettre-préface d'Edouard Herriot

International expansion

The second half of the 19th century saw Revel grow internationally with the company entering the

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

ian and South-East Asia markets. Goelette LaFanny

The international expansion of Revel had started with Pierre Revel in Brazil in 1851. Pierre had moved to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

a few years prior and was already in the business of importing other French branded parasols and umbrellas into Brazil. In March 1850, Pierre was joined by his two brothers Henri, 19 years old, and Joseph, 32 years old, who sailed on the "Goelette La Fanny" for Rio de Janeiro. Accordingly, it made sense for Revel to enter the Brazilian market given the fact that the Revel brothers were already present in Brazil and had a good knowledge of the local umbrella market. By the end of the 19th century, Revel expanded into Southeast Asia and particularly in the former

French Indo-China French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China), officially known as the Indochinese Union and after 1941 as the Indochinese Federation, was a group of French dependent territories in Southeast Asia from 1887 to 1954. It was initial ...

. Revel was a provider of sun accessories to French high society in the colonies, those of whom wanted to protect themselves from the harsh external elements such as the rain and sun. In Asian cultures, fair skin is desirable as tanned skin is associated with outdoor manual labour which is typical of the lower class in society. Parasols and umbrellas were primarily sold in

Saigon Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

(now known as Ho Chi Minh),

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

and then in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

in 1886. To meet increasing demand in this region, Revel increased its production and created its own factory in 1931 in

Haiphong Haiphong or Hai Phong (, ) is the third-largest city in Vietnam and is the principal port city of the Red River Delta. The municipality has an area of , consisting of 8 urban districts, 6 rural districts and 1 municipal city (sub-city). Two o ...

Tonkin Tonkin, also spelled Tongkin, Tonquin or Tongking, is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain '' Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, including both the ...

(the northernmost part of Vietnam). Beyond Europe, South America and South East Asia, the brand extended its reach to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

. It was sold in Madagascar from 1896 as a result of a journey by the French General,

Joseph Gallieni Joseph Simon Gallieni (24 April 1849 – 27 May 1916) was a French military officer, active for most of his career as a military commander and administrator in the French colonies where he wrote several books on colonial affairs. He was rec ...

. When General

arrived in Madagascar in 1896, he learned that only the queen

Ranavalona III Ranavalona III (; 22 November 1861 – 23 May 1917) was the last sovereign of the Kingdom of Madagascar. She ruled from 30 July 1883 to 28 February 1897 in a reign marked by ultimately futile efforts to resist the colonial designs of the go ...

and noble persons were allowed to be seen using an umbrella. Appalled by this custom, he published a decree in the local newspaper ‘Voa-Voa’ allowing all people (including the indigenous) to use umbrellas. Revel created a local agency in Tamatave to import Revel’s luxury products in the wake of this new decree.

In popular culture

In 1922, Revel engaged the famous Italian poster art designer

Leonetto Cappiello Leonetto Cappiello (9 April 1875 – 2 February 1942) was an Italian and French poster art designer and painter, who mainly lived and worked in Paris.

to create the famous ad representing three people with umbrellas, it was published by the fine parisian printer's firm,

Devambez Maison Devambez is the name of a fine printer's firm in Paris. It operated under that name from 1873, when a printing business established by the royal engraver Hippolyte Brasseux in 1826 was acquired by Édouard Devambez. At first the firm sp ...

, in the name of "Les Nouvelles Affiches Leonetto Cappiello". In 1929, Revel diversified into silk stockings and engaged

Leonetto Cappiello Leonetto Cappiello (9 April 1875 – 2 February 1942) was an Italian and French poster art designer and painter, who mainly lived and worked in Paris.

once again to promote its new products. The artist was inspired by the previous one (with three with umbrellas) and created a poster with three women with silk stockings. In 1992, the producer of the drama film The Lover (film) (an illicit affair between a teenage French girl and a wealthy Chinese man in 1929

) asked Revel to recreate for the film, the same parasol, the brand was selling in the former

in the 1920s.End of the movie in the credits Since its inception in 1851, Revel has gained international fame, with its parasols and umbrellas used and endorsed by various people as

Paul Valéry Ambroise Paul Toussaint Jules Valéry (; 30 October 1871 – 20 July 1945) was a French poet, essayist, and philosopher. In addition to his poetry and fiction (drama and dialogues), his interests included aphorisms on art, history, letters, m ...

of the French Academy, the writer

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...

and Edouard Herriot, former mayor of Lyon (France).

References

{{Reflist Umbrella manufacturers Defunct manufacturing companies of France

History

Beginning

International expansion

In popular culture

See also

References