In the gardens of the Palace of Versailles there stands a statue of Jean-Baptiste de La Quintinie, the creator and director of the royal fruit and vegetable gardens; in 1979, inspired by the waistcoat of this great man, with its orderly line of buttons down the front, Versailles-born fashion designer agnès b. re-imagined the garment in cotton fleece, and the iconic snap cardigan was born. A soft and easy-going garment, the snap cardigan immediately took off, becoming a soaring success and conquering the world.