Chantelle
Accessories / Fragrance / Jewelry / Underwear & Lingerie
Chantal Thomass was born into a "calm, middle class" family from the Paris region, and was the only daughter of her mother, a dressmaker, and her father, an engineer. Already taken in by the joy of...
Chantal Thomass was born into a "calm, middle class" family from the Paris region, and was the only daughter of her mother, a dressmaker, and her father, an engineer. Already taken in by the joy of dressing, she didn't wait long to start: while enrolled in a private school, she customized her own uniform. Her adventure in the fashion world started at the end of the 1960's. She released her first ready-to-wear line for Ter et Batine. It was her chance to show off a staggering style that used shocking fabrics: plastic-looking fabric, flannel, lurex stitches, etc., thereby participating in the creative boldness of the 70's. Brigitte Bardot, the stores like Dorothy Bis couldn't resist the bohemian style. That's how it was in the 70's. In 1975, Chantal Thomass introduced lingerie into her fashion shows, creating a minor revolution in a decade heavily influenced by the women's movement. At the time, it was felt that women's undergarments should be made of the most basic materials and that their style should be entirely functional. Manufacturers' had only one real requirement: they must be practical. Chantal Thomass turned that state of affairs topsy-turvy by boldly adopting traditionally masculine fabrics, or by indulging in silk ornamentation and frills to her heart's delight. She successively rehabilitated the bra, the basque, the suspender belt, the corset, stockings, and later invented lace tights. "I treated undergarments much as outer garments, veiling and revealing women's bodies with lace and sensual transparent fabrics", the designer explained quite simply. The Chantal Thomass label and style were launched that same year. Her signature look, which was extremely daring for the times, left an indelible mark on the fashion world in 1981, when advertiser Benoit Devarrieu created the logo and the famous shadowgraph silhouette. By then the image was indelibly engraved on the collective unconscious. As a result, sexy lingerie (or simply sensual, pretty underthings) became an object of desire, convincing women that they could be enticing and seductive, and, above all, that they could be beautiful for their own sake, by treating themselves to life's little luxuries. In 1998, she joined the Sara Lee Corporation and began redeveloping her own label. She staged fashion shows and opened a new boutique designed by Christian Ghion in 2004. Today, Chantal Thomass' creations are distributed in 18 countries and are still supreme examples of the ultra-feminine, sexy and glamorous style that opened the door for many other designers. In 2006, Sara Lee Corp. sold its stakes in Chantelle SA (Chantal Thomass' company), along with all it's apparel business, to Sun Capital Partners, Inc.Brand Details
Founder
Chantal Thomass
Designer
Chantal Thomass
from
1975to
PresentBrand Strategy
Market segment
Luxury
Core business
Underwear & Lingerie
Targets
Women
Chantelle Flash News
Chantelle Revenue and Financial Report
Last fiscal year ended on December 31, 2022
Revenue per year
in Millions of EUR