Chantal Thomass: Beyond the Bustier, the Fashion!

Chantal Thomass’s style immediately brings to mind a black and white woman's tuxedo, a powdery pink boudoir and crimson lipstick, all of which are highlighted by a silhouette with a square, fringed haircut whose profile became her logo in 1981. "Chantal Thomass is also the creation of an image,” says Sylvie Richoux, head of collections at the French National Center for Stage Costume in Moulins, who curated the 2001 Marseille monographic show. “In the early 1980s she chose to embody her brand. It was groundbreaking." But the auction of 274 archival pieces, originally set for March 5 at Drouot, but postponed to Thursday, May 6, reveals a more complex story. "The sale will highlight Chantal Thomass’s ready-to-wear work, which is less well known than her lingerie," says expert Didier Ludot. "It will protect an important clothing legacy." Alexandre Samson, head of haute couture and contemporary design at the Palais Galliera (the Paris fashion museum), considers Ms. Thomass "an emblematic woman of her time". The Birth of a Style "The catalog starts with designs by Ter & Bantine, the brand Ms. Thomass founded in 1967 with her fiancé and husband-to-be Bruce Thomass, a Beaux-Arts student who created the turpentine-painted fabrics…