Chanel Just Bought a Beloved Shirtmaker—and Its Menswear Universe Got a Little Bigger

The Chanel menswear offering is expanding.

The luxury fashion house has just acquired French heritage shirtmaker Charvet for an undisclosed sum, it announced last Thursday, in a move that adds a big boost to Chanel’s aspirations for men’s clothing.

The news follows a recent collaboration between the two heritage maisons. Chanel creative director Matthieu Blazy teamed up with Charvet to create a series of crisp long-sleeve shirts, complete with a pearl button and the house’s signature chain, for women as part of his first spring 2026 collection. One of the pieces, which immediately caught the internet’s attention (as many other items in Blazy’s collections have), retails for US$4,350; another, a cropped iteration in blue-and-white stripes, is priced at US$3,900. That response of the collaborative power of Chanel and Charvet turned out to be rather compelling, as it acted as a catalyst for the fashion house’s purchase of its fellow French brand.

The oldest French shirtmaker, Charvet, got its start in 1838 on Paris’s Place Vendôme thanks to founder Joseph-Christophe Charvet, the son of Napoleon Bonaparte’s personal dresser. The brand, known for its bespoke shirts and suits, has crafted many an outfit for a who’s who of historical heavyweights, including Marcel Proust, John F. Kennedy, and Winston Churchill—and even Coco Chanel herself.

“We are delighted by this association with Charvet, which holds a special resonance for Chanel.” Bruno Pavlovsky, president of fashion activities at Chanel and Chanel SAS, said in a press statement. “We share the same approach to savoir-faire: with exacting standards, respect, and the conviction that such skills only truly flourish when rooted in longevity.”

As we mentioned, this latest acquisition only strengthens Chanel’s menswear footprint. The maison snatched up Orlebar Brown, a British luxury resort-wear brand known for its swim trunks, back in 2018. And it added Barrie, a Scottish cashmere brand famed for its knitwear, into the fold in 2012. The same year, it also bought Causse, a French company that specialises in gloves. The Wertheimer family, Chanel’s owners, also bought a minority stake in The Row, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen’s men’s and women’s clothing line, nearly two years ago. Though it seems Charvet will play a much larger role in the Chanel universe, acting as the menswear answer for the house’s female designs.

“Now we have a name, Chanel, for women, and a name for men, Charvet,” Pavlosky told The New York Times in an interview.

This story was originally published on Robb Report USA.

Photos: Chanel