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Shirt in its heyday
It’s as much a part of Swiss wrestling as sawdust: the Edelweiss shirt. On a visit to their workshop, one of its biggest manufacturers tells the inside story.
At Lenggasse 4 in Meiringen, the sewing machines are rattling away. Fabrics are being cut to size, collars and cuffs are being ironed. “Welcome to our workshop,” says Samuel Jenni, as he takes us on a tour of the family business he runs with two of his siblings. While the production locations in Ticino and Slovenia carry out larger scale production, the main focus of the team here in the workshop is on small production runs, adjustments and custom-made items. Samuel is responsible for marketing and design of the product range and is currently working on the new collection: “We’re in the process of launching our latest streetwear line, which combines urban clothing with the Edelweiss fabric providing an accent, such as on the inside of the hood on a hoodie.”
Folklore fashion rediscovered abroad Samuel grew up with the Edelweiss. It is more than 45 years since his parents started making shirts and selling them in their “Märithüsli” outlet at the Ballenberg open-air museum. “As a teenager, of course, I thought the Edelweiss was anything but cool.” Later on, however, his view changed significantly: “On the streets of Mexico when I was travelling there, I noticed that folkloric patterns are part of everyday life for example, on bags. I took a liking to that and wanted to do the same with the Edelweiss.” And that’s how this passionate skater and snow- boarder came to create his signature collection 13 years ago.
Original Edelweiss pattern
The classic line includes the original Edelweiss shirt, for which the company enjoys some renown. But what does original mean? To demonstrate, Samuel’s sister Rea Jenni rolls out a bolt of fabric on the table: “The traditional Edelweiss shirt is light blue and made of 100 percent cotton. The fabric is woven from double threaded yarn, known as a corded thread, making it particularly sturdy.” It is traditionally worn with long sleeves, a stand-up collar and half buttoned. “Another distinguishing feature is the wide, wild flower the same as the original pattern invented for the first shirts by the Gugelmann weaving mill in Roggwil.”
From work shirt to Swiss wrestling shirt
The Edelweiss shirt was originally a work shirt. Starting in the 1970s, it then found its way into wrestling because of its sturdy yet soft texture. Mostly in the short sleeved, loose fitting version. In response to growing demand for tight fitting styles, Jenni developed an elastic version made of jersey fabric with a zip and an Edelweiss print. “The fabric dries faster and the sawdust sticks to it less,” explains Rea. With shirts worn for wrestling, special attention is paid to the buttons. To prevent wrestlers’ shirts from falling off, the buttons are sewn twice and the ends of the threads are fused. Another special feature is that wrestlers keep the colour they choose for their Edelweiss shirt as a child for their entire wrestling career. Contrary to popular belief, however, the colours do not have any meaning. “Unlike traditional costumes, there are no regional differences with the Edelweiss shirt it’s the same all over Switzerland,” explains Samuel.
Growing demand expected
Jenni’s customers are mainly from rural areas. “But after the wrestling festival in Zug, we suddenly started getting enquiries from Zurich,” says Samuel. As well as yodelling festivals, the Edelweiss is increasingly being worn at Oktoberfest events and weddings. With the Swiss Wrestling and Alpine Festival 2025 Glarnerland+ coming up, demand is still manageable at the moment, but that seems likely to change soon: “The big rush will probably come in August, just before the festival,” says Samuel, speaking from experience.
