Bombay Durpun - Chanel eyes menswear with Charvet shirtmaker takeover

Charvet has been making bespoke shirts and suits from its home on Place Vendome in Paris since 1838, with past clients including Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy and Chanel founder Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel.

New Chanel creative director Matthieu Blazy worked with the family-owned manufacturer for his debut collection in October last year, creating a long-sleeved white shirt for women that sells for more than 4,000 dollars.

The acquisition is "to support, over the long term, the passing down of unique savoir-faire and the continued existence of an iconic French heritage house, while fully respecting its creative independence," the firm said in a statement.

No price was given for the takeover.

Blazy is only the fourth creative director in Chanel's history and has made a promising start to his task of moving the brand on from the 40-year period defined by its legendary designer Karl Lagerfeld.

His first collections have been snapped up by buyers worldwide, helping the group report a slight rise in sales last year when many of its peers are struggling with lower demand.

The group, owned by Alain and Gerard Wertheimer, turns over around 20 billion euros a year despite resisting the commercial temptation of launching a dedicated menswear fashion line.

"Now we have a name, Chanel, for women, and a name for men, Charvet," Chanel head of fashion, Bruno Pavlovsky, told The New York Times in an interview published Thursday.

"Even if Chanel is about women, we see more men coming in," he continued.

In a separate interview with fashion website WWD, Pavlovsky denied any plans to expand Charvet beyond its single Paris store, where customers can pick from around 6,000 fabrics.

Charvet, owned by the Colban family since the 1960s, claims to be the oldest shirtmaker in the world, having been founded by Joseph-Christophe Charvet, the son of Napoleon’s personal dresser.

M.T.Johanson--BD