A century in the Mountains
Looking back over the Millet saga
A story of canvas, a family story, a story about mountains.
From grocery shopping bags to the Himalayan mountains and greatest mountaineers in climbing history, Millet is all about expeditions.
Founded and based in Annecy, the brand has taken part in a century of mountain sports, gearing up the majors and the amateurs. It’s a story about canvas and mountains, it’s a family story, and a story about the yellow SHERPA 50 backpack used by a whole generation. A story we all relate to.
In 1921, Marc and Hermance Millet, from the two Savoie, produced grocery and food bags for their customers at their grocery store near Lyon.
Marc’s frail health brought them closer to the summits, in Annecy. After his death in 1937, Hermance took over the business… and bequeathed it to her children, René and Raymond in 1945.
Lachenal
Louis
Louis Lachenal helped them design the first mountaineering backpacks, among which the backpack used in 1950 to climb up the Annapurna, the first 8000-meter summit reached by a human.
The Annapurna,first 8000 m
is reached
Walter Bonatti,first technical advisor
Bonatti
Walter
In 1963, Walter Bonatti and René Desmaison are first and second to scale the north face of the Grandes Jorasses, in winter
Greatest mountaineers worked with the Millet brothers directly from their workshop in Annecy: at first, there was René Desmaison (who invented the first harness in 1956), then Walter Bonatti.
The first nylon
backpacks
Desmaison
René
Millet movesinto
mountain
apparel
Messner
Reinhold
Millet continued its upward climb and diversified to clothing in 1977, launching the first parka made of Gore- Tex®
Just like the world of the 80s, everything is accelerating in the mountains. The Millet athletes are now taking the technical sides of the mountain with an The iconic Patrick Edlinger revolutionises climbing on cliffs.
Trilogy, north faces
and records
Profit
Christophe
Damilano
François
Aubert
Françoise
Ice climbing, spurred on by climbers such as François Damilano, opened new doors. The influence strongly guided Millet's offer and the first Gore-Tex® suits and ever lighter backpacks.
Enter the new millenium with Jean-Christophe Lafaille and Macro Sifredi; the first alpine style ascents and first snowboard descents of the men's journey into summits legends.
Lafaille
Jean-Christophe
K GTXJacket
Siffredi
Marco
Everest Shoe
Graftiaux
Chloé
Millet partners with the Chamonix Guides Company, the world's oldest and most prestigious company.
63 years afther the first ascent of the Annapurna, Yannick Graziani climbs its south face in alpine style.
Walkner
Eva
Graziani
Yannick
Annequin
Jean
We will continue to innovate, to commit responsibly and to track our community’s evolution and expectations, while sustaining our pioneering spirit of enterprise through products and initiatives that exceed every expectation of mountainsports enthusiasts.
The Millet family takes over the leadership of the brand into its 4th generation with Romain Millet at the head.
Technology is moving,the spirit remains
immutable.
