Listening to Women (Part 4 of 4)

To mark 150 years of Chantelle, the company invited fashion historian Salomé Dudemaine to reflect on the house’s history and evolution. What follows is Part 4 of her essay, originally written in French and translated into English.

Chantelle has always been a very vocal brand—one that speaks directly to women through slogans rooted in their most intimate experiences. Through carefully chosen words, it tells me far more than the aesthetic details we sometimes focus on. It projects me into the needs and sensations of women in each era, helping me better understand the evolution of Chantelle's products.

I return, then, to Something more. The first thing Chantelle has more of is its 150 years of experience. A century and a half of forging a singular path within an industry shaped by major technical, social, and cultural upheavals. In the archives, there are hours of filmed interviews conducted by Chantelle's teams with women in the 1990s, aiming to better understand their practices, needs, and desires. A patient, almost invisible, but fundamental act of listening. I close the archive box with a much clearer understanding of what Something more means.

Because in any industry, longevity is impossible without resonating with one's time. Chantelle's something more is precisely this: a constant ability to listen and respond. The capacity to place technical innovation in the service of women's real needs. The very definition of design.

Something more is not about defining what women should be. Something more is women. All women.

Salomé Dudemaine — fashion historian

Trained as a fashion historian at the Ecole du Louvre, Salomé Dudemaine explores the blind spots of fashion history, giving voice to those left in the shadows by the industry. A specialist in the early days of luxury ready-to-wear, she focuses on overlooked narratives and forgotten figures far from the myth of the great couturiers. She works with fashion houses as a consultant, placing history, archives, and brand culture at the service of contemporary thinking. In 2020, she co-founded Griffe Studio with Julien Sanders, an independent publishing house that explores the behind the scenes of fashion and its invisible players. A committed historian, she brings a critical and sensitive perspective to an industry in transformation, where craftsmanship, creation, and society intertwine to redefine contemporary fashion.