BRUT began as Paul Ben Chemhoun's personal archive of vintage French workwear, uniforms, and military garments, which by 2016 had grown into a reference collection used by fashion houses including Margiela, Gucci, Balenciaga, and Dior for historical accuracy. The BRUT Collection itself launched in 2020, translating pieces from that archive into modern silhouettes rather than reproducing them directly, released as occasional drops instead of on a seasonal calendar. Its REWORK program, launched in May 2021 out of its Paris workshop, reconstructs sourced vintage garments into one-of-a-kind pieces, starting with a first drop built from original Barbour jackets.