Days of the Heritage: The Chloé House and its DNA

Chloé is a founded French designers house in 1952 by Gabriela Aghion, a Parisian of Egyptian origin; it chose to give to its house the first name of a friend, Chloé Huisman, then known designer in Galeries Lafayette under the name of Chloé de Bruneton for his hot, female side and in agreement with the young and daring spirit.

A wind of freedom blows on the fashion after the war, with the arrival of Gaby to Paris in opposition to the coldness and stiffness of the mode of the years 1950, years when Dior and Balenciaga are in vogue. It then decides to create a line of clothing of high quality which it calls “ready–made clothes of luxury”.

Its creation of clothing available immediately, already cut and made, the minor need for final improvement, the matters of excellent quality, the cuts studied and fallen from fabrics looked after, are its signature. The market of the ready–made clothes such as we know it today was with its first steps.

Associated to Jacques Lenoir since 1953 and to friend of the artists of left bank, it organizes its first procession in 1956 around a breakfast with the Coffee of Flora in Paris, supported by the founder of IT, Hélène Lazareff.
The other dressmakers quickly joined the movement on left bank, like Yves Saint Laurent or Givenchy with their collection of 1956. Starting from 1957, Gérard Pipart is engaged as designer, it will remain there six years before leaving in Nina Ricci.

The following collection which enumerates towns of France, is presented with the Small estate of the Lilacs and at Lipp, while declining the alphabet for the names of its models, principle which will be adopted for the following collections by respecting the alphabetical order.

After the departure of Gérard Pipart, the house starts to join young talents which will become famous in the course of time: Christiane Bailly, then Michèle Rosier, Maxime of Cliff, Graziella Fontana, Tan Giudicelli, Carlos Rodriguez and Karl Lagerfeld cohabit or follow one another creation in the Sixties, decade characterized by very short and right dresses or on the contrary long and fluid.

The Chloé style is defined then by a tender femininity marked by dresses in the collar wraps revealing a naked back, the laces encrusted and silk crepe superimposed.

Karl Lagerfeld, got excited of freedom, decides to remain in freelance, which enables him to exert a little everywhere throughout the World: Italy and England become thus lands of welcome for him, and it integrates back–to–back the Chloé houses in 1963, for the collections ready–made clothes and accessories and Fendi in 1964, for the collection fur.

It is him who outlines the cloakroom signature of the house. Long skirts, blouses with collar going up, romantic lace: the Chloé style was born. With him, the house gains in importance and attracts the personalities of the time: Brigitte Bardot, Jackie Kennedy, Maria Callas and Grace Kelly, are follower of Bohemian creations of the brand.

In the middle of the years 1980, the brand is in lose speed, the sales are not more with go, it is in 1983 that the career of Karl takes a decisive turn: he sees himself proposing the artistic director of Chanel, of which he takes over the reins of the collections Haute couture, ready–made clothes and accessories.

Karl Lagerfeld imposes then a sharpened silhouette and adopts a humour glamour in his collections sets of themes: music (be 1983) or mechanics and plumbers (winter of the same year). Its collaboration with Chloé stops be 1984.

In spite of that, the company is acquired in 1985 by the group of luxury Dunhill Holdings, become the group Richemont thereafter and Lagerfeld, after about twenty years of collaboration, share at Chanel. Gaby Aghion and Jacques Lenoir retire following the transfer of the company.

Two years later in 1987 the Chloé House and its Richemont shareholder, allot the position of director artistic to Martine Sitbon, known for his female and soft print on the fashion, during 5 years.

Karl Lagerfeld makes his return to the house of 1992 to 1997, during 5 years makes evanescent tulle ivory dresses painted with the hand where it makes ravel Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell.
That which is defined as a “professional dilettante” uses of its talent in all the fields in vogue, it will be during many years the masculine more sold and little by little becomes a figure impossible to circumvent not only medium of the mode, but quite simply of our daily newspaper.

After the departure of Karl Lagerfeld, the place is allotted to Stella McCartney who takes again the reins of the house, bringing to him a puff of air vintage, rock‘n‘roll and sexy, a new orientation, female, romantic and impertinent.

Stella McCartney is selected to take again the reins at the 25 years age and hardly left the Holy Exchange Martins School of London, it earlier injects a second breath with the claw created nearly 50 years without never disavowing its heritage with the romantico–Bohemian DNA of the Chloé house.
In 1999, Ralph Toledano takes over the management of the firm, it will remain eleven years there.

With her departure in 2001, his/her friend and assistant Phoebe Philo replace it until 2006, affixing her at the same time sensual and rigorous leg with the claw. With it, the term “it–bag” takes all its direction. She makes the decision to incorporate accessories on the podium of which the bag Paddington, quickly become bestseller.

Phoebe Philo in his turn leaves Chloé: period of undulation for the brand. The two following collections receive few echoes. In 2006 finally, the Swede Paulo Melim Andersson, in the past at Marni and Margiela, brings a shifted and modern style: the turnover goes up. In September 2007, Chloé is the first brand of luxury to develop a specific version of its website for the iPhone from Apple. The following year, the brand invests for the retransmission on Internet the evening even of its Parisian processions. Paulo Melim Andresson holds a time the artistic position of director.

In 2008, Hannah McGibbon, his replacing, asserts a heritage 70 ‘ S equipped with large capes, let us tons “nude” and of high sizes. After three years with the service of the Chloé brand, Hannah MacGibbon, in lack of inspiration according to the press, leaves the artistic director of Chloé the following year to devote himself to new projects.

Ralph Toledano, leaves the direction of the house in 2010 it is replaced by Geoffroy de La Bourdonnaye.

2011 bring a male key to the identity femininity of the claw. Creations fluid and sensual, are twistées by codes boyish which give to the romantic woman Chloé a temperament of fire, thanks to Clare Waight Keller, of English origin a ex stylistée at Gucci with Tom Ford, and in Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, like Pringle of Scotland, which becomes the new art director of the brand.

Clare Waight Keller chooses to leave in 2017, is replaced by Natacha Ramsay–Levi, as a Director of the Creation of the ready–made clothes, the leather goods and the accessories of Chloé.

Natacha adopts the house spirit rested by Gaby Aghion in the idea to offer to the women freedom to be themselves, it followed of the studies to the Berçot Studio before joining the team of the art director Nicolas Ghesquière at Balenciaga in 2002. She collaborated with Nicolas at Balenciaga during eleven years, where she was her right–hand man and finally, the creative director of the House. In 2013, it followed Nicolas in Louis Vuitton, where it took the functions of creative director of the female ready–made clothes.

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