Chloé - The label on everyone\'s lips
it bag,designer,chloe
Chloe
By Julia Neel
Any fashionista worth her salt will be able to reel off the names of at least five Chloé \'it\' bags as easily as she can name the members of her family. Paddington, Bay, Heloise, Edith, Silverado - see, easy. But it\'s not all about the bags. Where did the brand come from? Who is Chloé? And how did she create some of the most covetable accessories, with the longest waiting lists, ever?
Well, we have the answers right here...
The beginnings
it bag,chloe
Rachel Bilson and Mischa Barton
Well, the truth is that Chloé was named after a friend of Gaby Aghion, the chic Egyptian-born Parisienne founder of the brand. It all began in 1952 with a range designed to rebel against rigid \'50s styles. Aghion was on to a winner with her pretty collection of pret a porter dresses (she was one of the first designers to do \'off the peg\') and soon became one to watch...
Image: Rachel Bilson and Mischa Barton with her beloved Chloé Paddington
Then...
Europe,designer,chloe
Jackie and John F Kennedy
In the \'60\'s Aghion handed over the reigns of Chloé to a group of edgy Left Bank designers who breathed life into the label and ensured that it maintained a youthful vibe.
This fresh approach to design attracted the likes of Jackie Kennedy, Grace Kelly and Brigitte Bardot to the Paris boutique in search of a look that was \'luxurious, romantic, and quintessentially French.\'
Image: Jackie Kennedy with
John F Kennedy
The days of Lagerfeld
Chanel,designer,chloe,karl lagerfeld
Karl Lagerfeld
Long before Karl Lagerfeld took the helm of Chanel, he was head designer at Chloé. Lagerfeld infused the brand with his trademark variety of feminity and cutting-edge design which became the look that Chloé is famous for today. The german fashion oracle directed the brand from 1966 to 1983 and he did such a great job of it that he was back again in 1992.
Image: Karl Lagerfeld
\'80s influence
designer,chloe
Martine Sitbon
When she was still relatively unknown, Martine Sitbon assumed direction of the brand in the mid \'80s and injected her trademark of delicate androdgyny to the brand whilst keeping Chloe at the fashion fore.
Image: Martine Sitbon
Stella\'s reign
Stella McCartney,chloe
Stella McCartney
After Lagerfeld\'s brief return in the early \'90s, Stella McCartney took over and, despite criticism over her appointment, has been largely credited with re-inventing the brand and giving it back the cool, youthfulness that Chloé is famous for.
Image: Stella McCartney
Enter the \'it\' bag
Stella McCartney,it bag,chloe
Chloe Paddington
In 2001, McCartney\'s assistant and fellow St Martin\'s graduate, Phoebe Philo, stepped up to the role of creative director at Chloé. Despite widespread perplexion at the appointment of another unknown talent, Philo silenced critics by being the brains behind Chloé\'s first \'it\' bag - the Paddington - which still sell\'s out every year since its launch in 2003
Image: the Paddington bag
Paddington\'s friends
Cameron Diaz,it bag,chloe
Cameron Diaz
In her spell at the helm of Chloé, Philo was responsible for several other bags that went straight to \'it\' status. Starlet\'s, socialites and heiress\' all clamoured to be among the first to have the latest arm candy from one of fashion\'s hottest designers. Sienna rocked the dainty Bracelet bag, Cameron loved her Silverado, and Mischa was practically inseparable from her Paddington.
This year, the Bay bag has got fashionistas frothing at the mouth and the Héloïse already has a waiting list as long as the Beckhams\' bank statement.
Image: Cameron Diaz with her
Silverado bag
New kid on the block
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Paulo Melim Andersson
Following Philo\'s departure last October to spend more time in Britain with her family, Spanish-born, Swedish-raised, ex-Marni designer, Paulo Melim Andersson was appointed to the coveted role of head designer at Chloé.
Image: Paulo Melim Andersson
And now...
Autumn Winter 2007-08,it bag,chloe
Chloé autumn winter 07/08
It was clear from Andersson\'s first show that, like the other talents that have come before him, he is keen to impart his own aesthetic into the Chloé brand. The look was more masculine with roomier silhouettes and less of the feminine flounce that marked Philo\'s regin. The fash pack is waiting with baited breath to see how he settles into the role. That said, there were bag\'s a plenty to keep us on the Net-a-Porter waiting list. Our favourite? This oversized postman satchel.
Image: Chloé autumn winter 07/08
