Vetra

Vetra was founded in 1927 by Edouard Beerens, whose mother gave him a small factory producing aprons and work overalls as a wedding present. The workshop opened at 3 rue de Bretonvilliers, on the Île Saint-Louis in central Paris, and the brand name — VETRA — was formed from 'VETements de TRAvail,' French for 'work clothing.' Beerens designed the original logo, rendered in red with a schematic factory building, a mark the company has kept in its visual identity since. As the workwear line grew, the Paris premises became too small, and in 1930 production relocated to Lambersart, a suburb of Lille in northern France's historic textile belt — the region's dense concentration of weaving and garment-making infrastructure made it a natural fit for a growing manufacturer. Vetra has remained under Beerens family ownership and management since its founding, now run by the third and fourth generations, and continues to manufacture 100% of its garments — chore jackets, moleskin trousers, and the classic 'bleu de travail' workwear associated with French tradesmen — in its own French factory rather than outsourcing production, a point the company treats as central to its identity nearly a century on.