UK fashion moguls in contract to sell $25M West Village home

MatchesFashion founders recently sold Beverly Hills residence

From left: Tom and Ruth Chapman of MatchesFashion along with 252 West 12th Street (Getty, CarlGambino.com)
From left: Tom and Ruth Chapman of MatchesFashion along with 252 West 12th Street (Getty, CarlGambino.com)

Two fashion moguls appear to have found an ideal match for their West Village townhouse.

Tom and Ruth Chapman, co-founders of retailer MatchesFashion, are in contract to sell their property at 252 West 12th Street in the Manhattan neighborhood, the New York Post reported. They listed their home for $25 million in July, which is what the asking price is today.

The Chapmans purchased the home from oil heiress Aileen Getty for $19 million in 2019, the same price Getty paid to acquire the property two years earlier. Getty purchased the property from Adam Dell, brother of Michael Dell.

The five-bedroom, four-and-a-half bathroom townhouse spans 4,900 square feet and was built in 1910. Steven Harris renovated the 20-foot-wide red brick home, wiring the property to give it smart home capabilities.

The home was tied for Manhattan’s priciest contract in Olshan Realty’s report on properties asking $4 million or more. The borough saw 26 contracts in the week before Christmas, marking the second busiest period recorded by the firm.

The townhouse includes a wood-burning marble fireplace in the living room, an outdoor seating area off the kitchen, a gym, wine storage, a screening room and a primary bedroom with a walk-in closet and wood-burning fireplace. Outside, there’s a landscaped roof terrace, hot tub and rear garden.

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The buyer was not reported. Compass broker Carl Gambino has the listing; Gambino declined to comment to the Post about the pending sale.

The sale comes three months after the Chapmans said farewell to another stateside residence, when they sold the Trousdale Estates in Beverly Hills. The 6,300-square-foot home sold for $35 million, a 16.7 percent discount from the initial $42 million ask. The Chapmans bought the place in 2017 for $24 million.

Gambino was also one of the listing agents for the Chapmans’ Beverly Hills sale. That home is near a residence of the Chapmans’ fellow fashion heavyweight Bernard Arnault, chairman of luxury goods conglomerate LVMH and one of the world’s richest men.

The Chapmans co-founded MatchesFashion, a luxury clothing retailer, in 1987. The company operates several stores in London, but mostly maintains its presence online. Apax Partners purchased the company in 2017 for about $535 million.

— Holden Walter-Warner