Fragrance house

Chantal Thomass

Founded in Paris in 1975 by Chantal and Bruce Thomass, the Chantal Thomass label followed their earlier Ter et Bantine venture and a Boulevard Saint-Germain boutique opened in 1967. It expanded from ready-to-wear into lingerie, hosiery, maternity clothing, childrenswear, and licensed accessories, while developing a visual language built from frills, ribbons, flounces, lace, bows, corsetry, and contrasts between covered and uncovered or masculine and feminine elements. The business entered licensing with Japan’s World group in 1985; after a conflict with its Japanese shareholder, Chantal Thomass lost the right to use her name and brand in 1995, regained those rights in 1998, and relaunched with Dim, then associated with Sara Lee. Chantal left the label’s creative direction in December 2018, when Groupe Chantelle’s team took over, and entrepreneur Thierry Le Guénic acquired the brand from Groupe Chantelle in January 2022, with a renewed collaboration with the designer planned.