Chloé

Chloé 2005 ad, featuring the Chloé Paddington Bag

Chloé is a French luxury fashion design house headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1956 by French-Egyptian creator Gaby Aghion, the house produces women’s prêt-a-porter, accessories, and fragrances.

History

Chloé has employed several of contemporary fashion’s most influential designers in the past 40 years. Karl Lagerfeld, who currently serves as creative director for Fendi and Chanel, served two stints as top designer for the house. From 1971 to 1983, Lagerfeld forged a sexy,hot. feminine image for Chloé that perseveres today. His 1972 Deco collection won him wide acclaim and elevated the house, as well as the designer, to international fame. He departed for Chanel in 1983 but returned in 1993 to replace outgoing designer Martine Sitbon, who brought a more modern look to Chloé during her tenure.

In 1997, young British designer Stella McCartney took the helm of the fashion house, succeeding Lagerfeld in one of the industry’s highest-profile positions. Having graduated from London's Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design only two years earlier, McCartney’s eponymous collection was already popular among London’s fashion scene. This did not silence critics who maintained that McCartney received the position only because of her celebrity parents, ex-Beatle Paul and Linda McCartney, and that the appointment was simply a publicity stunt on the part of Chloé's owners, the Vendôme.

McCartney’s first collection for Chloé, shown in Paris in October 1997, put to rest any criticism of her abilities as creative director. The collection included signature pieces such as lace camisoles and petticoat skirts that recalled the feminine image submitted by her predecessor. Her ready-to-wear designs elevated Chloé's profile to new heights in the late 1990s. McCartney, an avid animal-rights activist, refused to work with fur and leather during her tenure at the house.

McCartney announced her departure from Chloé in early 2001, naming 27-year-old Phoebe Philo as her successor. The move left most in the fashion industry baffled, as Philo was a relative unknown. She had attended Central St. Martins a year behind McCartney and worked under her for only four years, but did not have the credentials typical of designers at any other major house. Again, critics were silenced after the young designer’s first collection. Planted firmly at the intersection of casual street chic and whimsical femininity, Philo’s designs forged an image that the company calls "luxurious, romantic and quinessentially French." Philo also created several "it" bags during her time at Chloé;exclusive fashion accessories that are in such high demand that having one denotes the carrier’s elevated social status. One of such was her Paddington bag, which became a smash hit in 2004 and spawned a slew of knockoffs.

On January 6, 2006, Philo stepped down as creative director for the fashion house in order to spend more time with her young daughter.

Chloé announced in October 2006 that Paulo Melim Andersson, a Swede who worked for Marni for seven years, would take over as creative director.

“His mission is to find the new direction for the Chloé brand,” Chloé chairman and chief executive Ralph Toledano told WWD. “He will be given, like his predecessors, a lot of freedom to find his own way.”

There is a somewhat cheaper sister brand 'diffusion line' called See by Chloé.