Contrary to what you might think, wearing formal attire to graduation ceremonies is not an American or Anglo-Saxon tradition. A belief motivated by these images of young Americans vigorously throwing their hats in the air at the end of the ceremony.
In fact, this tradition originated in France. Initially, the gown was worn by university lecturers to protect them from the cold. At the time, it was a long black dress topped with a beret.
Later, under the reign of Napoleon I, the colours symbolic of the regal functions of society were adopted: bright red for the medical profession, deep blue for philosophy, purple for law and purple for theology.
This tradition of wearing the gown began to fall into disuse at the time of the French Revolution, and was completely abandoned almost two centuries later with the events of May 1968.
However, the enthusiasm shown by students in France for the graduation pictures produced by American universities has revived this tradition, which is now being adopted by a growing number of universities, business schools and other higher education establishments, as well as in nursery and secondary schools.
Why wear a gown to a graduation ceremony ?
The wearing of a university gown, whether as an official ceremonial garment or simply as an attire, symbolises the completion of a student’s studies and his or her success in examinations. Not only does the university gown represent the culmination of many years of study, it also symbolises the transition from student to professional life. The idea is to add a very solemn dimension to this event.
In terms of symbolism, while the university gown is often dark in colour, some companies are now offering to personalise and add colour to university gowns to meet the customisation needs of institutions. For gowns worn by professors of Law, Medicine, Science or Literature, the epitoge and the ermine ranks, two components of the gown, will help to distinguish the wearer’s rank and the subject taught.
The ermine represents the university degree, which is divided into three categories: the Baccalaureate, even though there are very few official ceremonies for this level of qualification, the Licence and the Doctorate.
The colour of the epitome identifies the discipline awarded, with colours that have changed slightly since Napoleon: red for law, daffodil yellow for literature, redcurrant for medicine and amaranth for science.
Where can I find university gowns for graduation ceremonies?
The manufacture and sale of official gowns, ceremonial dresses and university gowns requires specific, highly technical know-how that only a handful of professionals in France possess.
However, thanks to certain manufacturers renowned for the quality of their university attire, such as HEMREX, a specialist in ceremonial gowns, you can provide your students with very high quality gowns that you can personalise with the name of the recipient or that of your school, or add embroidery elements or customised printing techniques.
Although symbolic, the university gown is nonetheless an official garment that must be worn according to specific rules and codes laid down by corporations and/or universities.
