The history of Eden Park Paris goes back to 1987 when Franck Mesnel and Eric Blanc, two brilliant international backs from one of the world’s most venerable omni-sports clubs – Le Racing Club de France – decided to set up their own highend clothing brand.
Giving free rein to their creative, offbeat Parisian spirit, they invented a brand whose inspiration and codes are based on authentic events, an amazing true story which is now part of French Rugby folklore. And a brand name – Eden Park – which resonates everywhere Rugby is played.
In domestic rugby, he played his whole career for one club – Racing Club de France – and after losing the 1987 final to Toulon, was crowned Champion of France in 1990 after beating Agen in the final, while wearing a Pink Bow Tie, of course!
Coming from a privileged background in Paris, Mesnel originally studied architecture at the prestigious Paris school of Fine Arts, and while he eventually dropped his studies to set up Eden Park, he has always retained his eye for design and his taste for elegance, often with a whimsical twist. Rugby on the other hand taught him the fine balance between discipline and creativity, qualities which remain central to the philosophy of Eden Park with its insistence on quality, sustainability, and exceptional attention to detail
The day after the club final, Mesnel was winging his way to New Zealand to play in the inaugural Rugby World Cup. And less than two months later, on June 20th 1987, the Parisian fly-half played in the first ever World Cup final, against the All Blacks on the hallowed turf of Eden Park, Auckland.
History records that Mesnel lost both these finals. But on his return to Paris, he turned them into the cornerstones of his new clothing brand: the Pink Bow Tie for the logo, and ‘Eden Park’ for the company name
It all started in the 1986-87 season of the French national championship. Playing in the traditional blue and white stripes of Le Racing (colours later worn by Andrew Mehrtens, Joe Rokocoko, Daniel Carter, Simon Raiwalui, Johnny Sexton, Frans Steyn and Siya Kolisi to name a few) Mesnel and Blanc spiced up the competition with a number of pranks. Along with ebullient French fullback Jean Baptiste Lafond, author and future film director Philippe Guillard and other members of the back division, they ruffled the feathers of French conservatism with their zany tricks.
Throughout the season, they played in Basque berets, long pink underwear, or gold-painted boots; they took the field wearing blazers or with their faces painted black, after one of their coloured props was a victim of racial abuse. And to top it off, on May 2nd 1987, when they reached the grand final of the French Championship, live on nationwide TV and in front of 50,000 people at Parc des Princes, all the backs played the game wearing… Pink Bow Ties!
Franck Mesnel has long had a love affair with New Zealand and New Zealand Rugby. His very first game for France, coming on as a replacement late in the game, was against New Zealand in Toulouse in 1986. A week later, in the famous Battle of Nantes, he had his first start for Les Bleus, celebrating it with a resounding 16-3 victory against the All Blacks.
He went on to win 56 caps for France – mostly at fly-half, occasionally at inside centre – playing in three Rugby World Cups (1987, 1991, 1995) and twice winning the Five Nations Championship for France, including a Grand Slam in 1987.
