The immense popularity of the teddy bear, now in every child's bedroom, hides a paradox: how did this ferocious, wild animal came to symbolize childhood? The teddy bear was born at the same time in two different places. In 1902, the toy was invented in the United States in reference to Theodore Roosevelt - hence its Anglo-Saxon name, Teddy's bear, which became teddy-bear.
In Germany the same year, Margarete Steiff marketed her first teddy bear created from needle cushions. It was a resounding success in Europe and America. The first examples in mohair and wood straw were heavy and rigid. However, the teddy bear has softened and mellowed. It has incorporated bright or pastel colours, in order to become a cuddly toy, the transitional object studied and theorised by pediatrician Donald Winnicott.
Thanks to Winnie the Pooh, Michka and Paddington, the bear now reigns over a whole menagerie of stuffed animals as well as children's fiction. More surprisingly, the bear is also a favourite of fashion designers who do not hesitate to revisit him.