For me, the best portion of a pop star's album rollout is their interview with New Zealand-based DJ Zane Lowe. (Besides the actual record's release, of course.) Over the years, Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, and more have appeared on Lowe's show, each time with album insight and a stellar press outfit in tow.
Sabrina Carpenter joined the ranks on September 3, mere days after her seventh studio album, Man's Best Friend, dropped. The hour-long tell-all immediately made waves for director Jennifer Juniper Stratford's 1967-era set. (She's also the brain behind the "Manchild" and "Tears" music videos.) Even in black-and-white, Carpenter shined in a vintage Chantal Thomass skirt set, circa Spring/Summer 1995.
Stylist Jared Ellner helped Carpenter track down the off-the-shoulder top and a mini skirt. As seen on the runway, the two-piece is mostly black with ivory lace embroidery. Rumor has it, they sourced it from French secondhand label, Emerieu. Though it debuted four years before Carpenter was born, it felt right up her alley—especially the cutouts surrounding a plunging bodice. The hem of her thigh-length skirt featured the same lace trim, except with ruffles.
Unless you're a deep-cut fashion person, Chantal Thomass isn't a household name. From the '70s through the '90s, the French designer dominated the Paris fashion scene and is credited with the rise of lingerie worn as outerwear. Given Carpenter's affinity for risqué attire, it's no wonder Thomass's designs made it into her Man's Best Friend promo trail.
Another Thomass piece popped up for a split second in the now-viral "Manchild" music video. Carpenter pulled off a pink gingham bra while sitting a tub with pigs. It was a hidden gem in Last Platinum Vintage, one of her favorite L.A. boutiques for one-of-a-kind finds.
Thomass stepped away from her eponymous lingerie label in 2018. However, her under-turned-outer-garments are experiencing a second coming at the hands of Carpenter and Dua Lipa.
In Jan. 2025, Lipa "danced her way into the new year" in a navy fur-covered bra from Chantal Thomass Fall/Winter 1993. She paired it with the matching ankle-length coat, of course.
As a longtime brand enthusiast, I'm overjoyed that the It-girl crowd found Chantal Thomass. Her designs are tricky to track down—but once a stylist does, it's always a look book-worthy moment. A skirt set-clad Carpenter is proof.
