The MWC cotton hemp T-shirt (Middle Weight Champion)
Bleu de Chauffe already had a heavyweight T-shirt – and now the middleweight version is here!
Last year we brought you the Heavyweight Champion: a sturdy T-shirt with a heavy grammage, ideal for the cooler seasons. With the Middleweight Champion, we are extending the range with a piece built for the summer – breathable, responsible, high-quality, and soft to the touch.
It’s all about balance, in design and in the ring, which is where this T-shirt gets its name, a reference to boxing. You need the right weight, the right cut, the right materials. For the MWC, we have decided to combine bio-sourced hemp and cotton. Because hemp, cultivated naturally with no irrigation, blends perfectly with organic cotton to create a fabric which is sturdy, breathable, and naturally suited to the summer heat.
Every element has been carefully thought through to ensure this T-shirt molds perfectly to the body while leaving you free to move. The fit is generous without being too loose, the collar slightly open, the drape bold and sharp.
The Middle Weight Champion T-shirt is made at our workshop in the Aveyron region in the south-west of France, as are all our bags – and just like our bags, it is made to last a very, very long time.
Hemp: a high-quality material, cultivating our values
When designing the Middle Weight Champion T-shirt, we decided on hemp: a historic fiber, robust and ethical, grown in France using scrupulous farming methods.
Hemp is an incredibly rustic plant that can grow without irrigation or chemicals – all it needs is rain. It is naturally resistant to disease and can adapt to almost any type of soil. From the Pays de la Loire to the Hauts-de-France, even in the Aube or Gers region, it can grow almost anywhere in the country, wherever the soil is right and farming practices are sustainable. It grows quickly (in less than 4 months), preserving the soil, which is naturally regenerated by its deep root system.
It is also one of the most economical crops: a kilo of hemp requires up to five times less water to produce than a kilo of linen, and it can absorb up to 15 tons of CO₂ per hectare every year.
A T-shirt with a mottled look that’s full of character.
Hemp fibers are naturally antibacterial, thermo-regulating, and breathable, making it a technical textile, ideal for all seasons. However, they are stiff, which means they have to be used with care. In order to ensure the fabric will last and keep its shape, we decided to combine the hemp with organic cotton. This blend – softer, stretch-resistant, higher-quality, and more sustainable – gives the fabric its style, while maintaining its resistance and softness.
The result is a natural, slightly mottled finish, due to variations in the way the dye is absorbed by the two fibers.
A bio-sourced hemp/cotton jersey that’s soft and sustainable
The Middle Weight Champion finds its poise in precision.
Our tailor-made hemp/cotton blend gives us a 160 g/m² jersey, manufactured and woven in France in our partner workshops. It is sturdy enough to last, yet soft enough to mold to the body. Not too thick, not too thin, just what’s needed to make this Hemp T-shirt an everyday companion, perfect for those summer days.
This material, made with hemp and organic cotton, has been chosen for its style and its capacity to hold its shape, to let clothing breathe without becoming distorted. A fabric that will live a long life, getting softer over time without losing its shape.
The Fit: loose, natural, summery
This is not just a Men's t-shirt. This is the drape of a fabric, a movement, a style.
And in this range, every line counts.
For the Middleweight Champion T-shirt, we have kept the essence of the Heavyweight, its big brother, made for the cooler seasons, with a slightly loose fit designed to suit all body types. The shape of the collar has been reworked: it is more open, to adapt to the rising temperatures, and maintains impeccable style with a specially-designed rib trim. A discreet yet decisive detail.
And as always, the label signed Bleu de Chauffe, St-Georges-de-Luzençon, sewn into the collar – a reminder that every T-shirt is the result of meticulous artisanship using responsible methods, firmly rooted in the local area.
A sturdy collar, designed to last
The Middleweight Champion’s collar has been designed to the same high standards as the rest of the T-shirt.
We have created a special rib trim in hemp and organic cotton to match the fabric’s natural resistance. A rib trim is a band of elasticated stitched fabric that reinforces the neckline. Thicker and sturdier than a simple fold, it gives a cleaner edge and helps the collar keep its shape over time.
Its 3-dimensional form means it can withstand stretching without losing its shape, wash after wash. Wider than on a classic tee shirt, it accentuates the precise lines of this piece, bringing out its elegant style.
The slightly open collar gives a summery touch: stylish, practical, perfectly in season.
The label, a Bleu de Chauffe signature
At first sight the brand’s presence is discreet, just a label inside the collar…
But it says it all, in just a few words.
The label on the Middle Weight Champion encapsulates the essence of Bleu de Chauffe in three discreet details: natural ecru for the background, dark blue for the brand name, and a touch of red on the size label. The mark of a product that has been made ethically with love in France – unlike the over two million t-shirts produced every year across the world, often to be worn a few times then discarded. And because we are even more proud of our local production, on the back of the label we indicate that this product is cut, assembled, and manufactured in St Georges de Luzençon, in the Aveyron region.
A subtle nod to the French flag. A reminder of the fact that this T-shirt is designed, cut, and assembled here in France, with pride, to the highest standards.
