Phoebe Philo - Life After Chloe - *Update* Creative Director for Celine

[Zazie]

I didn't like what she did for Chloe, but my opinion turned 180 degrees after she debuted at Celine. She really contributes a new point of view to women's fashion, and does it brilliantly, didn't expect this depth from her.

 

[Cold]

Céline’s Phoebe Philo just says no to many things – and yes to one

Phoebe Philo is in New York thanks to Céline’s support of the Museum of Modern Art’s upcoming Isa Genzken retrospective. We were chatting about it when Ms Philo revealed some startling news: she had decided NOT to bring her pre-fall collection to New York as she had done the past few seasons, but was only going to show it in Paris. And she had decided NOT to post it online immediately on sites such as style.com, but to keep it behind the scenes until just before the clothes were delivered to stores. That’s some pretty active swimming against the tide there.

“I just think that pre-collection should be for stores, should be clothes that fill in a wardrobe,” Ms Philo said. “Not for shows.” As for the online thing, she said she felt such communication should be useful information for a consumer, which posting photos of something you cannot buy for six months was not. “Content for the sake of more content is devalued content,” she said. Which is both a really catchy phrase, and a sentiment with which I tend to agree.Anyway, her decision to put a damper on the pre-collection hoo-ha is exciting news for anyone who finds the growth of this not-exactly-a-season, which designers start showing in December and lasts until mid-January, one of the more confusing developments in fashion. And it raises the question of whether other designers will follow her lead and turn away from the “pre-spring or pre-fall show,” which has led to a seemingly endless round of collections, or stay the buzz-chasing course.

Not that what her fellow brands do will affect Ms Philo’s decision one way or the other. Even when it comes to supporting an artist, a current trend in the fashion world, Ms Philo tends to go her own way.

Ms Genzken, after all, is not exactly an obvious choice when it comes to a fashion link-up, especially as a first venture (Céline under Ms Philo has never underwritten a museum exhibition before). She is in her 60s and tends to shop, Ms Philo said, “at charity shops” and makes multilayered, challenging art that is hard to categorise. Put another way, in return for Céline’s support of the show, “she was never going to make a Céline T-shirt or collaborate on a bag,” Ms Philo said. “I actually don’t think it meant much at all to her. But I kind of loved that.

“I loved that we could be a part of introducing her to people who might not know her work and that she was also complicated, and had all this integrity. And that she is a mature woman.” She paused. “Her values seem like our values.”

“Elegance is refusal,” as another famous female designer once said.

ft

Isa Genzken: Retrospective made possible by Céline


instagram/tommyton

 

[Creative]

“I just think that pre-collection should be for stores, should be clothes that fill in a wardrobe,” Ms Philo said. “Not for shows.” As for the online thing, she said she felt such communication should be useful information for a consumer, which posting photos of something you cannot buy for six months was not. “Content for the sake of more content is devalued content,”

She's what fashion needs. I've been saying this like... forever. Glad she's making it happen.

 

[miguelalmeida]

On nymag.com

Céline Is Doing a Resort Show in China Tomorrow
by Véronique Hyland

Following hotly on the heels of Balenciaga, Burberry, and Michael Kors, Céline is the latest brand to head to China for a no-holds-barred event. Tomorrow's runway-show event will take place in Beijing's art district. CEO Marco Gobbetti told WWD that China is among the top five markets for the French luxury house, which operates 20 stores there. The once-logo-mad culture is starting to shift, with customers placing increasing emphasis on minimalist, Philo-esque design. As for whether any high-wire antics à la Cara Delevingne's runway flight are planned, we'll just have to wait until tomorrow to find out.

Céline to Stage Runway Show in Beijing [WWD]

Can't wait for tomorrow!

 

[terrainvague]

source: @markednicdao on IG

Phoebe's exit after the Winter 2014 show at Tank 798 Art District, Beijing, China.​

 

[markese91]

To look at the quote from 383 and then go to 384 is comical

 

[Creative]

^I think the collection showed in China wasn't the resort but the rtw one.

 

[t-rex]

This is brilliant.

Fashion Disciples: Philophiles

Confessions from the cult of Céline's Phoebe Philo launch a new series

Q: Who are the Philophiles?

A: A style tribe devoted to Céline, via its Creative Director Phoebe Philo. A Philophile's existence is being dedicated to the cause—that of living the purism of the house, not only through clothes, but in interiors and comportment.

Every now and then, an entire state of being can be conjured through one designer’s vision. Such is the case with Phoebe Philo’s Céline. When she presented her first collection as Creative Director of the French house in 2009, her clean, minimal aesthetic introduced a uniquely practical way of dressing. These were clothes designed for women like Philo—smart, savvy women who balance career, family, and a social life, all while looking impeccably low-key.

In this age of naked ambition, it’s no wonder the Philophile has emerged. “You shouldn’t underestimate the Phoebe Philo effect,” says Dr. Valerie Steele, a fashion historian and the curator of the Museum at New York's Fashion Institute of Technology. “When Phoebe and Céline started to become stronger and stronger, you suddenly began seeing clothes that were somewhat androgynous. They made a lot of other things look fussy and old-fashioned in comparison.”

But Philo's Céline isn’t the only brand that has managed to assemble a legion of dedicated followers. Just look at Rei Kawakubo’s Comme des Garçons. Her provocative, unorthodox designs afford men and women the opportunity to completely transform themselves into powerful, almost alien beings. Rick Owens, too, has developed a somewhat religious following amongst urban men and women. One need only look at the contiguity of black platform leather boots, drapey noir robes and layers of leather outside Owens’ Paris shows to understand his clientele’s level of commitment.

You would imagine Shayne Oliver’s Hood by Air votaries—the latest tribe on the block—would quite literally follow him to the end of the earth, because he understands, and allows them to express, their individuality through breaking down the barriers between youth culture and the upper echelons of the fashion biz.

These designers satiate men and women’s desires to be different—but, perhaps, not too different. Is wearing these garments akin to being a member of some kind of exclusive club? Or perhaps it’s a shared understanding of what these designs signify—discretion, anonymity, and quiet luxury.

Style tribes form when a designer has tapped into an essential nook of the global mood—disobeying trends, fads, and often fashion itself. And maybe, on some level, through their ideologies and instantly recognizable philosophies, they give their clients something to believe in. What’s so wrong about that?—Katharine K. Zarrella

Nowness.com

 

[Lola701]

I love Phoebe and her work at Celine but that Nowness thing is very pretentious. The article and the video are just cringeworthy. And the comparison to RO and CDG are just far from the reality.

 

[fashionista-ta]

She certainly made Celine much more desirable (to many) than it had been previously. Before, though, they had really nice basics with a twist--and much better prices. Personally I find the brand less useful than before.

 

[t-rex]

I love Phoebe and her work at Celine but that Nowness thing is very pretentious. The article and the video are just cringeworthy. And the comparison to RO and CDG are just far from the reality.

It's very tongue-in-cheek - and those are actors. The comparison of RO and CDG refers to their "legion of dedicated followers."

 

[Lola701]

It's very tongue-in-cheek - and those are actors. The comparison of RO and CDG refers to their "legion of dedicated followers."

I know about the actors but it's just weird. And Nowness is owned by LVMH if i remember well. So...
Yes, i understand that "legion of dedicated followers" but for me Céline is still too hot and too "fashion" to be compared with RO & CDG.

 

[tatouejeremie]

Phoebe Philo Said to Be Exiting Céline

According to multiple sources, LVMH is interviewing designers to replace Céline creative director Phoebe Philo, though the company denies her departure is imminent.

By Astrid Wendlandt
October 17, 2017 05:20

PARIS, France — LVMH is interviewing designers to replace Céline creative director Phoebe Philo and rebuild the design team in preparation for her eventual departure from the French fashion brand, several industry sources in Paris and London with knowledge of the matter have said.

“The interviews have been going on for a few months now,” one of the sources said on condition of anonymity. Yet LVMH vehemently denied Philo was about to leave the brand: “We categorically deny any imminent departure of Phoebe Philo from Céline,” a spokesman for LVMH said. Renewed speculation that Philo would leave already prompted the luxury group to publish an internal memo earlier this year saying the designer remained committed to the brand. But LVMH did not deny that interviews for a replacement were taking place.

Another source with knowledge of the situation said Philo was expected to leave by the end of the year and the terms of her departure had been agreed before the summer. “It smells like the end of an epoch,” one headhunting source said on condition of anonymity.

Industry sources said potential replacements for Philo could include former Stella McCartney design director Natasa Cagalj, who is now at Ports 1961 and has a similar aesthetic. There is also Michael Rider, whose LinkedIn page lists him as design director of Céline ready-to-wear, though a spokesperson for Céline declined to confirm whether he was still with the label. Another name suggested by sources is Ilaria Icardi, the design director at Victoria Beckham, who was previously senior design director at Yves Saint Laurent and design director at Céline, according to her LinkedIn page.

Since joining Céline in 2008 after a three-year hiatus to focus on her family, Philo turned the underperforming label into a fashion authority with her minimalist designs. Philo, a graduate from London’s Central Saint Martins, was behind many of Céline’s hit bags. Over the past decade, she helped lift the label’s annual sales from €200 million to more than €700 million, according to analysts. (LVMH does not break out figures for Céline).

But if Céline is one of LVMH’s most successful fashion brands, under Philo, one of fashion’s last techno-refuseniks, it has also been a digital laggard. The label only launched an Instagram account earlier this year, long after competitors. At a time when e-commerce is one of the most significant growth opportunities in a slow luxury market — in the next 10 years, McKinsey & Company expects the share of luxury sales occurring online to triple, making e-commerce the world’s third largest luxury market after China and the US — Céline has yet to embrace online sales.

The brand is thought to finally be launching e-commerce later this year under new chief executive Severine Merle, who arrived in April, replacing Marco Gobbetti, who left to take the helm at British megabrand Burberry. Previously, Merle was the deputy of Berluti chief executive Antoine Arnault and, before that, general director of Louis Vuitton France. Philo’s departure is expected to help boost Céline’s digital growth.

Philo studied with Stella McCartney and followed her when she took the creative director job from Karl Lagerfeld at Chloé in 1997. When McCartney left Chloé to set up her own fashion brand in a joint-venture with what was then called Gucci Group, now part of the conglomerate Kering, Philo was left out of the project and then CEO Ralph Toledano exploited the rift to place her in the top job in 2001. Philo left five years later having significantly boosted Chloé’s sales revenues. Philo is part of an entire generation of young female designers who earned their first stripes at Chloé, including McCartney, Hannah MacGibbon, Clare Waight Keller and now Natacha Ramsay-Levi, who presented her first collection at Paris Fashion Week last month to much media acclaim.

Birthed in 1945 by Céline Vipiana as a children’s shoe brand, Céline later expanded into women’s ready-to-wear and accessories, and was integrated into LVMH in 1996 under the watch of chairman Bernard Arnault. The label is often cited as an example of the investor patience required to revive a luxury fashion brand. Though Céline enjoyed a short period of success under the designer Michael Kors, who led the brand’s creative direction between 1997 and 2004, it never really took off until after Philo joined in 2008.

After roughly ten years at Céline, the designer has clocked up a tenure that’s much longer than many others who have cycled in and out of fashion houses at a rapid clip, with some lasting less than a year. But following several blockbuster years, Céline’s growth rate has slowed and Philo may be ready for her next move.

businessoffashion.com

 

[Nymphaea]

Where would she go?

 

[dodencebt]

I wholeheartedly approve of this, if true. Phoebe did wonders at Celine for 10 years and it's time for her to move on to a new challenge. I apologize if this ruffles a few feathers, but I don't think she has anything left to say at the brand.

 

[t-rex]

Where would she go?

Maybe do her own line

 

[perhydrol]

At this point we wouldn't even notice the difference between Céline with or without Phoebe. I mean it's so clear that it's a team work and her collections have become very messy in a way, like a pathwork of different styles. So if she left, it would be a good thing to do- letting design team do whatever they want. At the same time it would definitely be the end of an era.

 

[GivenchyHomme]

I wouldn't mind. She hasn't had a hit in years. It's a brand that's running on autopilot. Her heart isn't in it anymore. It's a good time for her to leave. Maybe a new house will refresh her creativity.

 

[Lola701]

Judging only by the state of fashion today, i don't want her to leave. I love her latest collection and while her vocabulary has been on autopilot recently, i feel like she can still do maybe 2 or 3 collections. Celine has become what Balenciaga by Nicolas Ghesquiere was for me.

But, if there's only one established designer who can take over Celine after her: Stefano Pilati!
Phoebe's Celine has always been a cooler, looser extansion of his work at Saint Laurent. I would love for him to return in fine form there.

JW Anderson is so good that he can basically do Louis Vuitton or Celine if he wants but Loewe is growing so, he should stay there.

If Nicolas really leaves Vuitton, then there will be two big jobs to fill at LVMH.


As for Phoebe, she is one my contender for Chanel, with Nicolas & Alber. Her possibilities are endless...

 

[fashionista-ta]

Where would she go?

It's possible she wants to take some time off now ...