It’s been ten years, but you finally own your name again.
Yes. Except I don’t own my name alone, I now have partners. Back in the 1980s, it was my own company, a small company. But at the time if you wanted a loan from the bank it had to be in your name – as it’s a personalised business and the name, my name, is part of the company. The name becomes a trademark. [She then went into a licensing agreement with Japanese company World Company.] And then, when the Japanese decided not to have me anymore, we fought, they won and they kept my name. I had to buy it back ten years ago and for that I had to find partners. So now I have 34 per cent of my name.
So you own the ‘Chan’ and the ‘tal Thomass’ belongs to them?
You could say that. [laughs]
So let’s get this straight: you aren’t a person, you’re a trademark?
I’m used to it. The three years when I couldn’t use my name were very difficult because it’s my real name. I couldn’t work and I couldn’t sign any design as Chantal Thomass. But I could say, “Madame Chantal Thomass.” [laughs] I don’t think about it anymore.
What has changed over the last ten years?
The big change is that lingerie was only a part of my job before. I also did ready-to-wear, interior design, shoes, accessories and watches. Now I only design lingerie.
Do you miss working in those fields?
I do escape pure lingerie from time to time. I design bathing suits these days and I do one-off projects such a lingerie washing machine I created a few seasons ago. It’s in pink - like my stores. It's really fun.
Ok, let’s cut to the chase: Is it more fun to design for a curvy girl, or a slimmer one?
A perfect body for me is a slender girl who naturally has boobs and a butt. The nice thing is when they have tits and ass and a taille [stature]. All the girls at a couture show are very skinny and thin, except right now, I think, the girls are taller and taller - they are more than 1 metre 80. For the catalogue I look for girls with boobs and ass, but thin. Mind you, I don't like to see the bone, I hate that.
Is it more challenging to do lingerie for a skinny girl or a full-figured one? Does all of your lingerie work with all sizes?
For a model-like girl, everything fits, everything is beautiful. It's easy. But in each collection, we have three different sized bras beyond the regular. One push-up bra for B-cups and C-cups and we will to go to D-cups, because now young girls have bigger boobs. In the US, in Germany and even in France, ‘stronger’ women want to be sexy too. Before, D and E-cups could only be bought at Playtex, and that was it, but now the young won’t settle. Due to the demand we had even for E-cups, we increased our range. After all, every size can look pretty and sexy.
But still, as far as I understand, a woman hardly ever finds a good-fitting bra.
It’s because very often they don't know their exact size.
What are the secrets of bra sizes?
First, no two labels size the same. A bra is something that you have to try on. For example, yesterday we did a models’ fitting for a show and some bras fit one girl but not others, even with girls of supposedly the same size. Also, something you notice is a geographic physiology for the models were mostly from Russia and Eastern Europe and their boobs tend to be toward the side of their chests. Nevertheless, I have customers who always buy Chantal Thomass, and they know their size and it always fits. They can even buy by telephone. But if you change labels, you face difficulties as the size can change. Also you can change if you go on a diet or – a good example because everyone knows it – if you get pregnant. Another ‘secret’ is that there’s not a big difference, for example, between 85B [32B] and 90A [34A]. It’s the same cup. Women don't know that. If you have an 85C [32C], it’s a big cup for a small back. But if you take 90B [34B], it’s the same cup as an 85B [32B] but with a bigger back.
Do you wear your own label?
Yes, of course. I test everything six months or a year before it’s released.
But for you it’s always in black isn’t it?
All our pieces are available in black. I personally have some rare pieces with polka dots and I must have one or two white, and one or two red but I don’t wear them all that often. I prefer black as I think it’s more beautiful on my skin. I believe that if you’re pale, you’ll look much better in black.
You’ve been sporting the same hairdo and wearing only black clothes for many, many years, how do you reconcile this with such creativity in your job?
If you look at people in fashion, who work in fashion, they always dress the same. Lagerfeld does.
But he went from Yamamoto and big shirts, to Dior, which he wears like a second skin. Then he came up with the gloves, the jewellery - so he is changing a lot.
Yes, that's true but it’s always the same style since he has maintained being thin. I am not the same every day. I have skinny trousers, I have large trousers, I have long skirts - it depends. I have a whole room of black clothes in very different shapes.
How sexy can lingerie get? Now we have lingerie we can see through and only a string between the legs. What is the next step? Is there a limit?
We always can go on. It's like all other clothes: a new fabric, a new shape, a new shape of bra. It's not difficult to find a new idea every six months. And there are new techniques, new prints. I myself go to the factory to make the print, to make the lace, and it is very inspiring to see the new fabrics. It feels much easier to design lingerie than ready-to-wear.
When your look at your past collections of lingerie, like 10 years ago, 15 years ago, some of the pieces were very provocative and probably easier to sell in a sex shop.
Yes, but not made in the same way. In the sex shops, the material is horrible: awful lace, not comfortable, not well done. And the lingerie of Jean-Paul Gaultier or Agent Provocateur is much flashier. I am quite classic. [laughs]
How important is it to have icons wear your lingerie? As I know, Brigitte Bardot is always in Chantal Thomass. How important is it to have stars as clients?
It’s always important, because it is flattering. Except the big difference is nobody sees it. If one has a Gucci bag or a Dior bag, you can tell. I cannot promote. It is even difficult to say who is coming into the store and buying although I know that Milla Jovovich came and Catherine Deneuve too.
She has a D cup I believe.
Yes. [laughs] I have a whole list of VIP´s: Monica Bellucci is one of the most recent shoppers. She is incredibly beautiful. Arielle Dombasle. Very sexy still and she’s in her mid-50s.
Are there still age restrictions on what one can wear at what age?
For our mothers, attractive-after-40 was not a consideration. Today, if you look at women like Sharon Stone, there is no one who would say she is not a sex symbol. Most women realise they should be very proud of their age. They have no fear mentioning their age, and they are beautiful. Look at Madonna.
So there is nothing that you produce especially for younger people and for elderly people?
Maybe some shapes – like there are some funny panties. Bloomers. But it’s not a question of age; it is a question of shape.
For those who have a weight problem, are there some tips how one can be sexy and still cover the parts they aren’t happy about?
For example, wear my bustiers. You have larger parts covered, but it’s still a very delicate piece. Voilà.
Any new trends coming up?
Trends are not as strong in lingerie as in ready-to-wear. But in a way, lingerie follows the trends of ready-to-wear because lingerie is an accessory like shoes. So if there’s a lot of yellow in fashion, you can sell yellow in lingerie. Knickers were a big thing for a while, then we had boxers but there’s still a skew toward the romantic look, like very Marie Antoinette, an 18th century feel with a lot of ruffles and flowers. But the bestseller over decades is black lace.
When men buy lingerie for women, are they smarter and more sensitive than the women themselves?
The average man is more and more concerned about such matters so they’re becoming more interested, and as a result there are more and more male connoisseurs.
