Introducing Arpenteur, one of the 14 brands in MR PORTER’s Vive La France collection.

French streets are known for their patisseries, cafés and tabacs, but look more closely and you’ll also notice an abundance of comic-book shops. What might initially strike the non-fan as a geeky oddity is actually a vital part of the national visual culture that’s as crucial to French identity as manga is to Japan.

One of the country’s most celebrated bandes dessinées artists is Régric, a cartoonist who’s worked with Mr Jacques Martin, one of the key members of the Hergé Studio during the golden age of Tintin, and collaborated with French brand Arpenteur on clothing, accessories and screen prints.

While many fashion collaborations run for only one season, Arpenteur’s founders, Messrs Marc and Laurent Bourven, chose Régric as a permanent contributor to their collections. Since 2011, Régric has been creating playful illustrations to complement Arpenteur’s vintage-feel workwear. His ligne claire (clear-line) drawings of a young detective and his trusty dog (reminiscent of Tintin and Snowy) are the perfect fun contrast to the brand’s contemporary classic gabardine, moleskin and French denim pieces.

Continuing the series celebrating MR PORTER’s Vive La France collection in collaboration with 14 French brands, we caught up with Régric to find out more about his artwork for Arpenteur.

What inspires your work?

My work is motivated by my love of drawing, whatever the style. Arpenteur gave me the opportunity to draw unique characters for its clothes, often in comical situations.

What inspired your drawing for Arpenteur?

I work from the ideas Arpenteur sends me. My job is to interpret it with my style, to give it that typical ligne claire instant simplicity and dynamism.

What are your favourite examples of ligne claire?

Of course, my first thought is Hergé and the Tintin series. But we should not forget his disciples, such as EP Jacobs for Blake and Mortimer or Spirou by André Franquin.

Describe the character that appears on the clothes. Who is he? What does he do?

We imagined this character as a younger, cooler, more French detective, in contrast to classic English detectives such as Sherlock Holmes. He’s accompanied by his dog and it’s up to you to imagine what adventures they are up to.