Chloé
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Chloé is a French luxury fashion design house headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1952 by Jacques Lenoir and French-Egyptian creator Gaby Aghion,[1] the house produces women’s prêt-a-porter, accessories, and fragrances.
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[edit] The first 'luxury prêt-a-porter' (ready-to-wear) fashion house
Prior to Chloé's launch, in 1952, luxury fashion houses had only ever produced Couture or Haute Couture (i.e. made-to-measure) clothing. This was fine for the few who could afford it, but it left everyone else in frequently poorly-made copies, supplied by the local seamstress.
Chloé's creator, Gaby Aghion, rejecting the stiff formality of 1950s fashion (and sensing a gap in the market), decided to create a line of off the rack, high quality, soft, body conscious clothes from fine fabrics, which she called 'luxury prêt-à-porter' and thus, the Prêt-à-Porter (Ready-To-Wear) market we know today, was born.
The couturiers quickly followed suit (the first being Givenchy, with their 1956 Ready-to-Wear collection; 'Givenchy University') and today, designer ready-to-wear heavily outweighs couture.
[edit] The name
Gaby felt her own name sounded as though it belonged to a fortune-teller, so she borrowed the warm, round, feminine 'Chloé' from a friend (a faux fur manufacturer), instead.
[edit] History
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Chloé was founded in 1952 by Gaby Aghion, an Egyptian-born Parisienne. Rejecting the stiff formality of the 50's fashion, she created soft, body conscious clothes from fine fabrics and called them "luxury prêt-à-porter". Unique for their time, they were beautifully made clothes available off the rack.
In 1956, Gaby Aghion and her business partner, Jacques Lenoir, debuted the first collection over breakfast at Café de Flore, which, as the city's infamous meeting ground for existentialists and artists, was one of their favorite haunts.
"Chloé" - a name they chose for its warm, feminine appeal - was perfectly in synch with the new mood of Paris: youthful and modern in design, and slightly audacious in spirit.
The label grew in popularity, and Aghion and Lenoir initiated what would become the hallmark of the house: hiring new, young talents to design the collections.
In the 60's, Chloé hothoused a group of youthful Left Bank designers who later defined the Paris ready-to-wear movement, "Le Style".
In 1966, Karl Lagerfeld became the house's head designer, and under his direction Chloé became one of the most iconic fashion brands of the 1970's. Jackie Kennedy and Brigitte Bardot, Maria Callas and Grace Kelly all came to Chloé's boutique in the 7ème in search of luxurious daywear. With its romantic, gauzy blouses and long skirts, Chloé defined the look of a generation.
In the 1980s, a series of talented designers including Martine Sitbon kept the collections fresh and ever-changing, whilst reiterating Chloé's quixotic ability to be both cutting-edge and timeless at once.
After the House was bought by the luxury goods conglomerate Richemont Group in 1985, its notoriety grew around the globe.
In 1997, Stella McCartney reinvented Chloé once more, with a romantic yet streetwise mix of vintage lingerie, tailoring, and signature low-rider trousers that hit a nerve with young women around the world and propelled the house to a new level of success.
After Stella's departure to launch her own line, her former assistant, Phoebe Philo, was named Creative Director and between 2001 and 2006 she continued the Chloé legacy of luxurious, audacious prêt-à-porter, whilst stamping the house with her own unique signature: sexy daywear, fluid lines, graceful and distinctly modern diaphanous tops.
On October 11, 2006, five days after the Spring/Summer '07 show, a new Chief Designer was appointed, Paulo Melim Andersson, formerly of Marni.
On March 10th, 2008, former Assistant Director to Valentino, Hannah MacGibbon, whose talent was first spotted by Phoebe Philo and who had been part of the Chloé design team since 2001 and Chloé Chief Designer since 2006, was appointed as the new Creative Director at Chloé.
[edit] Chronology
- 1952 - Gaby Aghion creates Chloé
- 1953 - Aghion forms a partnership with Jacques Lenoir
- 1956 - Chloé's first fashion parade (at the Café de Flore, Boulevard Saint-Germain, Paris)
- 1957 - Gerard Pipart is hired as a designer
- 1964 - Christiane Bailly and Maxime de la Falaise work for Chloé
- 1965 - Karl Lagerfeld joins Chloé
- 1966 - Designers Tan Guidicelli and Michele Rozier join Chloé
- 1971 - The first Chloé boutique opens at 3 Rue Gribeauval, Paris
- 1973 - Launch of the Chloé perfume. Second Chloé boutique opens at Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honore, Paris
- 1974 - Karl Lagerfeld becomes Chloé's exclusive designer
- 1983 - Karl Lagerfeld leaves Chloé. Guy Paulin joins Chloé
- 1985 - Dunhill Holdings buy-out Chloé. Designer Philippe Guibourge joins Chloé. Gaby Aghion and Jacques Lenoir leave Chloé
- 1987 - Chloé hires Martine Sitbon
- 1992 - Karl Lagerfeld returns to Chloé
- 1994 - Chloé moves to 54-56, Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honore, Paris
- 1997 - Chloé hires Stella McCartney
- 1999 - Chloé opens New York boutique on Madison Avenue. Creation of Chloé Lunettes. Chloé boutique opens in Hong Kong
- 2001 - Phoebe Philo Becomes Artistic Director of Chloé
- 2002 - Chloé opens London boutique on Sloane Street. Regular line of small leather goods, handbags and shoes begins
- 2006 - Phoebe Philo leaves Chloé (to spend more time with her baby daughter). Five days after the Spring/Summer '07 collection is shown, Swedish designer Paulo Melim Andersson (formerly of Marni) is named as the new Creative Director
- 2008 - Nine days after the Autumn/Winter '08 - '09 show, Paulo Melim Andersson is fired and Hannah MacGibbon, former Assistant Director to Valentino, part of the Chloé design team since 2001 and Chloé Chief Designer since 2006, is named as the new Creative Director
