Family history

Over the generations, this French house specializing in fine knitwear has developed its values ​​around its love of French elegance. Thanks to its expertise, Montagut creates knitwear in noble materials such as cashmere, silk, and the famous Fil Lumière.

1880 - In the beginning: Rooted in the Auzène valley near St Sauveur de Montagut, Adolphe Tinland, a young entrepreneur keen to share the industrial boom in his native Ardèche, created a silk mill powered by the river's power.
1900 - Succession: This company will be passed on to his son Gaston, then to the three following generations.
1925 - Silk stockings: Between the beginning of the 20th century and the Great War, Paris became known to the world as the cradle of fashion, and as soon as the war was over, Georges Tinland created a silk knitting workshop near Valence, Bonneterie Cévenole. He was the first in 1925 to sell silk stockings under the name Montagut. This is why his name is associated with the launch of the brand.
1944 - During the war: Like many Ardèche businesses, Bonneterie Cévenole provided support to the resistance, notably by lending vans and housing refugees. Around this time, Georges Tinland oriented the brand towards the most demanding clientele by producing luxury lingerie, marking the beginning of a long tradition of excellence within the company.
1950 - New materials: The post-war period was marked by the shortage of many natural materials, including silk. In response to this major problem, nylon and rayon were gradually introduced into lingerie and stockings. The flower, the future Montagut logo, was first seen!
1963 - Creation of Fil Lumière: In 1963, Léo Gros, Georges Tinland's son-in-law, and a friend developed an artificial thread that imitated silk in all its qualities. This unique material was then called Fil Lumière by its creator, who at the time was surely far from imagining the extent to which his invention would make the brand shine. Léo Gros's commercial dynamism led him to travel the world and enabled the brand to make its Fil Lumière polo shirts known throughout the Middle East and Indochina.
1963 - Creation of Fil Lumière: This is the acceleration of the company's worldwide reputation which, under the leadership of Pierre GROS (son of Léo), acquires significant know-how in the "fully fashioned" knitting of wool, cotton and cashmere and now includes all natural materials in its French collections of polo shirts and sweaters.
1992 - Acquisition of Pôles: Montagut acquires the Pôles brand, a specialist in high-end, creative knitwear, with which it shares the values ​​of know-how and quality.
2000 - The conquest of Asia: Montagut is the most renowned polo shirt brand in China. At the dawn of the 21st century, Pierre Gros wanted to expand the range to include all ready-to-wear clothing by the year 2000, while maintaining elegance as a leitmotif. He opened numerous stores, particularly in Asia, and marketed numerous clothing and accessories.
Today: What began as a workshop in 1880 has now become a global company that strives every day to preserve its French authenticity and the expertise accumulated over more than 140 years to create exceptional products. Today, the sixth generation takes the reins. Nourished by the family heritage, Marine and Nicolas bring their touch of modernity and emotion to bring this knitwear specialist to life.
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Contemplating a world living to the exciting rhythm of industrialization, Adolphe Tinland (1831-1902) understood the importance of change. Driven by the desire to represent in this new world the values ​​of his region and his know-how (originally being a silk miller), he decided to be part of this change by creating, on the basis of quality and know-how, a silk thread factory that he called Montagut.
Adolphe Tinland
The founder
Gaston, Adolphe's eldest son, succeeded in developing and industrializing the activity, notably by creating in 1925 a knitting and stocking manufacturing workshop using electrically powered machines employing around fifty workers.
Gaston Tinland
The industrialist
It was in the mid-1920s that Georges Tinland, son of Adolphe Tinland, founded a silk knitting factory in Valence (Drôme): Bonneterie Cévenole. Taking a new strategic direction, he then decided to manufacture and sell high-quality silk lingerie and stockings under the name Montagut. A second factory was built in Guilherand-Granges (the group's current headquarters) to increase the production of silk stockings. This first strategic shift would allow the brand to flourish before the Second World War, especially as stockings were gradually becoming a consumer accessory.
Georges Tinland
Montagut brand creator
After brilliant engineering studies, Léo Gros returned to Ganges to take over the dyeing business of his father, Fernand Gros, and thus came into contact with Bonneterie Cévenole and Georges Tinland, who was one of his customers. In 1963, Léo Gros, who had in the meantime become George Tinland's son-in-law because he was madly in love with his daughter, developed an artificial thread imitating silk in all its qualities, he then named it Fil Lumière. Through his travels, he made Fil Lumière Montagut polo shirts known throughout the Middle East and Indochina. They became the brand's iconic product!
Léo Gros
Inventor of the Light Thread
In 1986, the company's global reputation accelerated under the leadership of Pierre Gros. It acquired significant expertise in the "fully fashioned" knitting of wool, cotton, and cashmere. The 21st century marked Pierre Gros's desire to make Montagut an even more global brand. While maintaining elegance as a leitmotif, he opened numerous stores, particularly in Asia, and expanded the brand to a much broader range.
Pierre Gros
Current CEO
Marine Lozet-Gros is the founder's great-great-granddaughter. She brings a new dynamic and inspires a contemporary style while respecting the brand's fundamental codes. She is the guarantor of the family history and its future in all areas related to creation and communication. She represents the 6th generation of the family.
Marine Lozet-Gros
Artistic Director
Nicolas Gros, Marine's older brother, has extensive financial studies that have given him a particularly sharp approach to corporate finances. After working as a consultant, he joined the family business to launch the online store montagut.com in 2012, thus bringing the company into the new technology space.
Nicolas Gros
General manager
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Today

Today six generations succeed one another at the Cévenole hosiery factory, with Pierre Gros's children working alongside him at Maison Montagut.