Jean Cacharel SA () is a French company of

ready-to-wear Ready-to-wear (or ''prêt-à-porter''; abbreviated RTW; "off-the-rack" or "off-the-peg" in casual use) is the term for ready-made garments, sold in finished condition in standardized sizes, as distinct from made-to-measure or bespoke clothing ...

clothing,

perfume Perfume (, ; french: parfum) is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agreeable scent ...

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 roles generally associated with women and girls. Femininity can be understood as socially constructed, and there is also some evidence that some behaviors considered f ...

, 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 migratory, with the entire population moving to southern Africa, India (in particular Santragachi), Banglades ...

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

Camargue Camargue (, also , , ; oc, label= Provençal, Camarga) is a region of France located south of Arles, between the Mediterranean Sea and the two arms of the Rhône delta. The eastern arm is called the ''Grand Rhône''; the western one is the '' ...

(cacharel, standard French sarcelle d'été).

History

Cacharel was created in 1958 by the French

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

Jean Bousque in

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; oc, Nimes ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the prefecture of the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Located between the Mediterranean Sea and Cévennes, the commune of Nîmes has an estimated population of ...

, where he was

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a 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 responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

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. Having once been an aristocratic district, it is home to many buildings of historic and architectural importance. It spreads across parts of the 3rd and 4th arr ...

. The success of his first collection inspired him to create Cacharel. Cacharel designs are characteristic for their youthful style, femininity, lightness, refinement and use of bright colours. The presentation of the first blouse collection in Paris brought attention for its cheerfulness and the modern vision of women that it represented. The introduction of the seersucker blouse and a front cover in

Elle ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...

magazine in 1963 launched Cacharel onto the international stage.

Licenses and partnerships

Since 1975 Bousquet commissioned

L'Oréal L'Oréal S.A. () is a French personal care company headquartered in Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine with a registered office in Paris. It is the world's largest cosmetics company and has developed activities in the field concentrating on hair color, ...

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 PatchouliAlso 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 r ...

. The person representing Liberté in ad campaigns is Brazilian-born model,

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 th ...

, who is also the new face for the brand Cacharel Parfums, following

Kate Moss Katherine Ann Moss (born 16 January 1974) is a British model. Arriving at 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 to fas ...

who modeled for Anaïs Anaïs and Laetitia Casta for Promesse. 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

notebooks A notebook is a small book often used for writing. Notebook or The Notebook may also refer to: Computing *Laptop, a type of personal computer * Google Notebook, a discontinued online application * Notebook interface, a type of programming envir ...

by Clairefontaine and

underwear Undergarments, underclothing, or underwear 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 garments from being soiled o ...

by Éminence. Shortterm collaborations were made with other brands like Eastpak for bags in 2009 and Uniqlo for

t-shirts A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, 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-shirts are generall ...

in 2011. In 1997, for an exhibition at the New National Museum of Monaco , Cacharel dressed a

Barbie doll Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by American toy company Mattel, Mattel, Inc. and launched on March 9, 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli doll, Bild Li ...

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 "with the red sign", in reference to the houses where these family members lived or had lived. At the time, houses were designated by sign ...

, which holds 20%.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Clothing brands of France Clothing companies of France 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