Thomass

Chantal (1947). French designer. She was known especially as the queen of ultrasexy lingerie: guêpière or girdle, garterbelts, and sophisticated pantyhose. She began to take a profound interest in fashion as a child. She debuted as a fashion designer in the late 1960s, when she began to work with her husband Bruce, who painted scarves that Chantal then transformed into clothing, launching a fashion in Saint Tropez that even infected Brigitte Bardot. After working with Castelbajac and Kenzo, in 1976 she launched a line under her own name.
1995. She was licensed by the Chantal Thomass company and could no longer use her own label. To protect her own creations, she donated to the Fashion Museum of Marseille 40 silhouettes from the years 1986 to 1995, complete with accessories.
1998. She regained control of her label.
She published for Flammarion the book Trouvez votre style in which she gave advice on what not to do and on a basic wardrobe, suitable for all occasions, holidays, weekends, and eveningwear.
1999, June. She scandalized Paris and provoked a general state of shock by the exhibitionism with which she presented her new Collection with living mannequins, in the display windows of the Galeries Lafayette.
She established an alliance with Sarah Lee, worldwide leader in the field of lingerie. Previously she had worked for such huge firms as Walford and World.
2001, July. Retrospective at the Fashion Museum of Marseille for her thirtieth anniversary in business. Plaisirs des femmes, Chantal Thomass, 30 ans de création was the title of the exhibition, which extended over two stories of the museum. On the second floor was the lingerie (more than 100 items), the accessories (50), furniture and decorative objects. Many written and visual documents (drawings, sketches, archival photographs, videos) illustrate Chantal’s artistic development and work. On the third floor were the prêt-à-porter creations: twenty articles with the griffe Ter et Bantyne, including two one-offs in painted silk from 1967, others under the name of Chantal Thomass, from the 1970s up till 1975. In all, some eighty creations presented alone or highly accessorized, documenting the debut of an unmistakable style. At the same time as the retrospective show, a film festival was held that focused on the history of underwear and the female nude. Chantal herself selected some of the movies that were shown, from Truffaut and Godard to Preminger, Vadim, and Lubitsch.
2002, June. New retrospective show at the Musée des Beaux Arts et de la Dentelle in Calais. More than 200 items, in an installation designed by Bob Verhesit, entirely pink (Chantal’s favorite color).
Numerous sales outlets in France, including the showroom in the Rue du Cherche Midi on the Rive Gauche, and the large single-label shop in the Place du Palais Royal.
She designed supersexy swimsuits, almost always sold at the Galeries Lafayette.
2003, April. She received the Flacons d’Or 2003 prize.”