Jean Cacharel SA () is a French company of

ready-to-wear Ready-to-wear (RTW)also called ''prêt-à-porter'', or off-the-rack or off-the-peg in casual useis the term for garments sold in finished condition in standardized sizes, as distinct from made-to-measure or bespoke clothing tailored to a partic ...

clothing,

perfume Perfume (, ) is a mixture of fragrance, fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), Fixative (perfumery), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agre ...

and accessories, founded in 1958 by Jean Bousquet. Cacharel designs are characterized by their youthful style,

femininity Femininity (also called womanliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and Gender roles, roles generally associated with women and girls. Femininity can be understood as Social construction of gender, socially constructed, and there is also s ...

, lightness, refinement, and use of bright colours. Cacharel is named after the local name of the

garganey The garganey (''Spatula querquedula'') is a small dabbling duck. It breeds in much of Europe and across the Palearctic, but is strictly bird migration, migratory, with the entire population moving to Africa, India (in particular Santragachi), Ban ...

(''Spatula querquedula'', a small duck) in the

Camargue The Camargue (, also , , ; ) is a coastal region in southern France located south of the city of Arles, between the Mediterranean Sea and the two arms of the Rhône river delta. The eastern arm is called the Grand Rhône; the western is the ''P ...

(cacharel, standard French sarcelle d'été).

History

Cacharel was created in 1958 by the French

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

Jean Bousquet in

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Located between the Med ...

, where he was

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of the commune for two mandates. Jean Bousquet was the son of a sewing machine salesman; he was immersed in the world of clothes-making since childhood. He trained to be a tailor at a technical college and worked for two years as a designer before returning to Paris to found his own fashion house in

Le Marais The Marais (Le Marais ; "the marsh") is a historic district in Paris, France. It spreads across parts of the 3rd arrondissement of Paris, 3rd and 4th arrondissement of Paris, 4th Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements on the Rive Droit ...

. The success of his first collection inspired him to create Cacharel. The introduction of the seersucker blouse and a front cover in

Elle Elle may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Elle (magazine), ''Elle'' (magazine), a fashion publication ** Elle Style Awards * Elle (India), ''Elle'' (India), the Indian edition * Elle (film), ''Elle'' (film), a 2016 French film * ''Elle: ...

magazine, in 1963 launched Cacharel onto the international stage. A number of designers subsequently moved to Cacharel, including his sister-in-law Corinne Sarrut,

agnès b. Agnes is a feminine given name derived from the Greek , meaning 'pure' or 'holy'. The name passed to Italian as , to French as , to Portuguese as , and to Spanish as . It is also written as "Agness". Inez is an English variant. The Greek na ...

, Lolita Lempicka, Emmanuelle Khanh, Corinne Cobson, Japanese designer Atsuro Tayama, the duo Mark Eley and Wakako Kishimoto, and Clemens Ribeiro. From 2009 to 2011, Cédric Charlier was in charge of women's design at Cacharel, with 4 seasons. He was replaced in 2011 by Ling Liu and Dawei Sun. From 2009 to 2012, Cacharel had a licensing agreement with Aeffe Group to manufacture and distribute the line worldwide. In 2010, the brand sold its men’s wear division to Turkey’s Aydınlı Group, which had held the license for 14 years, for an undisclosed sum. In 2014, Cacharel suspended production of its children and men’s lines to focus exclusively on women’s ready-to-wear. It reintroduced the men’s line in 2019. In 2016, Cacharel commissioned architect

Jean Nouvel Jean Nouvel (; born 12 August 1945) is a French architect. Nouvel studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and was a founding member of ''Mars 1976'' and ''Syndicat de l'Architecture'', France’s first labor union for architects. He has ob ...

to design the concept for its French stores.

Licenses and partnerships

Since 1975 Bousquet commissioned

L'Oréal L'Oréal S.A. () is a French multinational personal care corporation registered in Paris

to create a perfume for his brand; the successful ''Anaïs Anaïs'' was launched in 1978. It was followed by ''Cacharel pour l'Homme'', ''Loulou'', ''Eden'', ''Loulou Blue'', ''Eau d'Eden'', ''Noa'', ''Nemo'', ''Gloria'', ''Amor Amor'', ''Amor Amor Eau Fraiche'', ''Noa Fleur'', ''Noa Perle'', ''Promesse'', ''Amor pour homme'' and ''Scarlett''. The perfume "Liberté", is an orange chypre with fresh citrus top notes inspired by a traditional French cake called 'chamonix' and woody heart and base notes with

patchouli Patchouli (also spelled patchouly or pachouli; ; '' Pogostemon cablin'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, commonly called the mint or deadnettle family. The plant grows as a bushy perennial herb, with erect stems reachin ...

. In 1997, for an exhibition at the New National Museum of Monaco, Cacharel dressed a

Barbie doll Barbie is a fashion doll created by American businesswoman Ruth Handler, manufactured by American toy and entertainment company Mattel and introduced on March 9, 1959. The toy was based on the German Bild Lilli doll which Handler had purchas ...

. The jewelry and watch license is managed by Christian Bernard Group. Several other licenses have been granted to market products under the Cacharel brand such as business gifts by Plastoria; tableware by Hankook;

notebook A notebook (also known as a notepad, writing pad, drawing pad, or legal pad) is a book or stack of paper pages that are often ruled and used for purposes such as note-taking, journaling or other writing, drawing, or scrapbooking and more. ...

s by Clairefontaine and

underwear Underwear, underclothing, or undergarments are items of clothing worn beneath outer clothes, usually in direct contact with the skin, although they may comprise more than a single layer. They serve to keep outer clothing from being soiled ...

by Éminence. Shortterm collaborations were made with other brands like Eastpak for

bags A bag, also known regionally as a sack, is a common tool in the form of a floppy container, typically made of cloth, leather, bamboo, paper, or plastic. The use of bags predates recorded history, with the earliest bags being lengths of animal s ...

in 2009 and

Uniqlo ( ; ) is a Japanese casual wear designer and retailer. The company is a subsidiary of Fast Retailing, Fast Retailing Co., Ltd. Clare Waight Keller is the creative director. History Men's Shop OS was founded in Ube, Yamaguchi. It was rebrand ...

for

t-shirts A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt, or tee for short) is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a '' crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shir ...

in 2011. In 2012, Cacharel signed a four-year licensing agreement with Hong Kong-based Mondottica for the production and worldwide distribution of its first lines of optical frames and sunglasses for women, men and children.

Campaigns

The person representing Liberté in ad campaigns was

Gisele Bündchen Gisele Caroline Bündchen (, , born 20 July 1980) is a Brazilian fashion model. Since 2001, she has been one of the highest-paid models in the world. In 2007, Bündchen was the 16th-richest woman in the entertainment industry and earned the ...

, who was also the new face for the brand Cacharel Parfums.

Kate Moss Katherine Ann Moss (born 16 January 1974) is an English model. Arriving towards the end of the "supermodel era", Moss rose to fame in the early 1990s as part of the heroin chic fashion trend. Her collaborations with Calvin Klein brought her t ...

modeled for Anaïs Anaïs and

Laetitia Casta Laetitia Marie Laure Casta (; born 11 May 1978)FMD profile
Retrieved 4 December 2009. is a ...

for Promesse. British-Ethiopian singer-songwriter Izzy Bizu became the face of the New Cacharel fragrance, ''Yes I Am'' in 2018. In 2022,

Shay Mitchell Shannon Ashley Garcia "Shay" Mitchell (born April 10, 1987) is a Canadian actress and entrepreneur. She rose to prominence for her role as Emily Fields in the mystery thriller drama series ''Pretty Little Liars'' (2010–2017), which earned h ...

from ''Pretty Little Liars'', released a lipstick-shaped fragrance bottle. In 2023, Cacharel announced that actress,

Skai Jackson Skai Jackson (born April 8, 2002) is an American actress. With such accolades as a Shorty Award and a nomination for a NAACP Image Award, she was featured in ''Times list of the most influential teens in 2016. After early child acting rol ...

, would be the new face of the ''Yes I Am Bloom Up!'' fragrance.

Criticism

As of 2022, Jean Cacharel continued its operations in Russia, maintaining its business activities and sales in the country despite its invasion of Ukraine. The company faced criticism for not altering its operations in Russia amid global calls for businesses to cease activities in the country.

Shareholding

Cacharel is owned by Jean Bousquet's family which holds 80% stake in the company and by Novinvest of

Rothschild Rothschild () is a name derived from the German ''zum rothen Schild'' (with the old spelling "th"), meaning "to the red shield", in reference to the houses where these family members lived or had lived. At the time, houses were designated by signs ...

, which holds 20%.

Fragrance

Versions of the perfume line are as follows:

References

External links

* {{Authority control Clothing brands of France Clothing companies based in Paris High fashion brands Perfume houses French brands Eyewear brands of France French companies established in 1958 Clothing companies established in 1958 Manufacturing companies based in Paris Watch manufacturing companies of France Design companies established in 1958