Chanel has designs for men, if not menswear, exactly.
The French luxury brand announced Thursday that it had acquired Charvet, the historic Place Vendôme maison known for its custom-made shirts, ties and pajamas. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
“Now we have a name, Chanel, for women and a name for men, Charvet,” Bruno Pavlovsky, Chanel’s fashion president, said in a video interview.
“Even if Chanel is about women, we see more men coming in,” she continued. “And even if Charvet is primarily about men, we see a lot of women go there to get shirts made. It depends on the customer: everyone is welcome. That’s the beauty and secret of the approach.”
The acquisition reflects what Pavlovsky sees as a new gender-agnostic approach among its clients. In fact, he said, it could even herald “the beginning of men’s couture.”
Chanel has already put its money where its mouth is, hiring ASAP Rocky and Pedro Pascal as brand ambassadors, although the company does not have a dedicated menswear line or, Pavlovsky said, any plans to create one. With the incorporation of Charvet, the bet has been redoubled.
You can afford it: Chanel posted revenue of $19.3 billion and an operating profit of $4.7 billion in 2025. It’s one of the luxury sector’s bright spots, thanks to the buzz around designer Matthieu Blazy, who was named the company’s artistic director in December 2024. His first collections have created a shopping frenzy in Paris, London and Shanghai.
Charvet, the world’s first shirting store, was founded in 1838 by Joseph-Christophe Charvet, son of Napoleon’s dressmaker, and was family-owned until 1965, when the Charvets sold the company to Denis Colban, then their fabric supplier. It is currently run by Colban’s children, Jean-Claude and Anne-Marie.
Charvet’s shirts have been commemorated in books such as Proust’s “In Search of Lost Time” and Tom Wolfe’s “A Man in Plenitude.” King Edward VII was a loyal customer and granted Charvet a royal warrant, a rarity for a non-British brand. Other fans include Gary Cooper, John F. Kennedy, Charles de Gaulle, David Hockney and Sofia Coppola, as well as former Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld, who, Pavlovsky said, gave him some Charvet T-shirts.
Chanel’s relationship with the house began just under a century ago, when Coco Chanel began borrowing the shirts (yes, Charvet) of her boyfriend, British shipping merchant and polo player Boy Capel. The deal was formalized last October, when Blazy, inspired by Coco’s style, collaborated with the brand on a trio of t-shirts for its first collection. Nicole Kidman wore one to sit in the front row; Jacob Elordi modeled another a few weeks later.
The attention put Charvet in the spotlight and, according to Pavlovsky, made Jean-Claude and Anne-Marie Colban, ages 71 and 69, think about the brand’s future (neither of their children work in the business). The sale to Chanel was his idea, Pavlovsky added.
Charvet has estimated revenue of between €10 million and €15 million a year (approximately $11 million to $17 million), according to Bernstein luxury analyst Luca Solca. Its assets include 100 employees, a workshop on the outskirts of Paris and a store, the Place Vendôme building, which Chanel also acquired. (Solca estimated its value at 100 million euros, or $114 million.)
The brand’s reputation far exceeds its physical footprint. British Vogue called Charvet shirts “the ultimate staple for those who revere quality basics and despise price tags,” adding that the brand itself had been “elevated to almost religious status among fashion insiders.”
“When you look at the different brands or major houses in Paris, you don’t find many gems,” Pavlovsky said. “This is a gem.” As an added attraction, he noted, Charvet’s bespoke tailoring service and approach to fabrics and finishes were similar to Chanel’s.
For example, he said: “In Charvet there is not a single blue: there are 500 blues.”
The brand will not become part of the Chanel group of “maisons d’art” such as the embroiderer Lesage and the goldsmith Goossens. Like other names owned by Chanel, including Eres, Orlebar Brown and Barrie, it will operate as an independent company. The Colbans will remain in office for at least a year to ensure a smooth transition.
Pavlovsky said it was unlikely that a Charvet exhibition would be presented in the future, but acknowledged that a dedicated creative director would be hired at some point. Expect job speculation to start now.
