Chloe & See by Chloe - feature - Designer Label Fashion

Chloe & See by Chloe - feature

January 12th, 2009

Chloe is a fashion house based in Paris, France - renowned for its feminine yet edgy styles, handbags, and successful diffusion line See by Chloe. Chloe was set up by Gaby Aghion, a parisienne of Egyptian origin, in 1952.

Aghion was tired of formal 1950s fashions and wanted to introduce more body conscious clothes “off the rack”, a concept she called luxury pret a porter. The name Chloe was apparently picked because of its youthful, bold but still feminine appeal.

(Pictured: Chloe mink coloured one shoulder shift dress, £718 available from Matches Fashion.)

Buy Chloe and See by Chloe designer fashion, shoes and bags online

Chloe history

The first collection was introduced in 1956 and was presented at Cafe de FLore, a haunt of intellectuals. The colllection was designed by Gaby, though she and her partner Jacques Lenoir then started hiring talented designers( and by 1966, Karl Lagerfeld was head designer).

In 1971 the first Chloe boutique opened in Paris, and Chloe went on to be a fashion house that defined 1970s fashions.

Gaby Aghion sold Chloe in 1985.

Chloe in recent years

Stella McCartney joined Chloe as creative director in 1997 and revitalised the brand with a string of youthful, feminine but quirky collections that brought a new audience to Chloe. in 2001 Phoebe Philo took over, having previously worked as assistant to Stella McCartney - Philo was credited with adding an edgier, street vibe to the designs, and indeed making Chloe cool once more. Philo stayed at Chloe until 2006.

The current creative director is Hannah MacGibbon, a Camden-born designer and Central St. Martins graduate who took over in 2008 from chief designer Paulo Melim Andersson (who had himself taken over from Philo).

Choe also offers leather goods and bags, having launched the range in 2002 under Phoebe Philo. The fashion house quickly became known as a creator of It bags - “must have” handbags, including the Paddington.

(Pictured: Chloe pink leather Pararty bag £970 from Matches Fashion.)

2001 also saw the launch of the Chloe diffusion line, See by Chloe, which is aimed at a younger and hipper market.