At the Rouen Tattoo Salon, fashions pass, the phenomenon takes hold

On the arms, legs, torso or ears, the needles and ink are on display at the Rouen exhibition hall (Seine-Maritime). Since Friday and until this Sunday, it has hosted the Rouen tattoo festival, 3rd edition this year. Some 500 professionals present their creations there, and even produce them on site. Absolute fans or simple lovers of tattoos of all kinds should meet there this weekend. The aisles are well filled, it must be said that the number of tattooed French people has almost doubled in ten years.

1 in 4 French people today are tattooed

Fashion ? Much more than that in reality for Romain and Pitou, the two organizers of the show. “It has especially become democratized. Today the artists have evolved, the equipment has evolved, we have many more possibilities than before, so obviously we will reach more people“, explains Romain. “We got out of the ‘bad boy’ image that was in the tattoo. Today, more than one in four French people are tattooed. Today, if only in our entourage, we have a brother, a cousin, a friend, a relative who has a tattoo. Even when you go to the beach, there are a lot of things to look at“.

After half an hour on the table, the buzz of the dermograph on her shoulder, Marine gets up with her new tattoo, the fifth for this young Rouennaise: “I wanted to do a turtle in line-art style, it’s a tattoo with fine, continuous lines.“. An increasingly popular minimalism, one fashion among others recognizes Eline, tattoo artist in Gravenchon (Seine-Maritime): “Everything that was the tribal, at one time it was done a lot, now less and less. And then there are areas where people will prefer to be tattooed, it’s a lot of ears and hands at the moment“.

A return of black and white with restrictions

Fashions often launched by stars adds Alex, a tattoo artist based in Amiens (Somme): “Generally it’s American stars who get a little tattoo, and behind it we have the Instagram generation who will want the same little tattoo as their idol. We don’t do it because we only make unique patterns in the living room. SO we always try to rework the pattern a little“.

Certain components in blue and green colored inks were banned at the start of 2023, and it also played a role according to Manu, a tattoo artist from Rouen. “People are a little less daring to try colors for fear that they age poorly, or that there are allergic reactions; whereas as a general rule we have very little chance of developing them. But it’s true that people are a little more focused on black and white“.

If you want to admire the creations of tattoo artists, the salon closes its doors this Sunday April 28 at 7:30 p.m.. Entrance is paid (€20 per person on site, €16.50 online, reduced rates for students and disabled people, and free for under 12s).