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"Hannah MacGibbon" "The Chloe girl, she said, "is a romantic traveller at heart, her trans- seasonal wardrobe reflects her nomadic spirit, with chic enduring pieces that emphasise craftsmanship and detail".
Chloé For five decades, bohemian ingenues from Brigitte Bardot to Kate Moss have flocked to Chloé for its dreamy, quirky separates.
The house has managed to maintain its beloved niche in ever-changing times, giving the pastel treatment to floaty blouses, maxi skirts, liquid slipdresses, and—because even dreamers need to go to work—tailored suiting options.
Founded in Paris by the
Egyptian-born Gaby Aghion and her business partner Jacques Lenoir in 1952, Chloé from its conception was on a quest to bring high-quality prêt-à-porter to a market in which fine craftsmanship was only available from couture houses. As the first luxury ready-to-wear line, it has attracted a rotating roster of each era's brightest design talents.
Karl Lagerfeld's decade-plus tenure at the house started in 1966 (interrupted in the eighties by his move to Chanel).
Martine Sitbon took over for several years, prettying things up with polka dots—then Lagerfeld returned for a five-year run in 1992.
Stella McCartney succeeded Lagerfeld before leaving to launch her own line; she was followed by Phoebe Philo, her onetime assistant, who ascended the ranks in 2001 and quickly became a critical darling.
In 2006 Philo bowed out to spend more time with her family and was followed briefly by Yvan Mispelaere and then, less briefly, by Paulo Melim Andersson.
Andersson was replaced three collections later by a relative unknown named Hannah MacGibbon, whose first Chloé outing was a small collection for Resort 2009.
<------ "Phoebe Philos secrets"...
..A huge part of her work (as it was at Chloé) is fabric development: how individual fabrics perform, what they can do. She fused her (very French) tweeds with a rubberized coating inside. A collarless coat in polished caramel leather is exactly the same inside as out: The skin sides of the leather were shaved and bonded together. A stunning white shell in cotton and silk ottoman curves out from the body. Even on the hanger, as Phoebe says, "it holds its own." She had some of her cottons washed; others were pressed and crushed, "to give the feeling almost of having had a previous life." One of her young assistants, bursting with a mission to explain, tells me in careful English that the button marks dimpling the back of a crepe shirt are not from careless pressing: "It is meant." And the creases on the sleeves that look like careless folding: "This, too, is meant." Phoebe loves mixing worn-in fabrics "with something that's very brand-new, like the bonded leather, which gives a very sharp aspect; the copper belt, which is very hard; and the zips. It's a big part of my aesthetic," she says, "those kind of polar opposites. It's the same with playing off the masculinity and femininity. I love, I absolutely love menswear. I love wearing men's clothes."
...These small details are that i need to take into consideration whilst finding inspiration and designing the new Chloe' collection...
