PHOEBE PHILO

 

My post title this week is just two words. I debated whether I needed to expand a bit, but I felt it was not necessary. We’re going to keep it minimal in honor of Phoebe Philo. I mean, she used Times New Roman for her brand’s logo. That’s the kind of minimal we’re going for. It is so comforting to have her back.

 

Photo is property of Céline.

Unless you have been living under a rock, you probably heard that it’s been 6 days since Phoebe Philo dropped her namesake label’s first ever collection.

 

This post is everything related to Phoebe Philo and the launch of her new namesake label’s first ever collection!

 

HERSTORY

Let’s take a step back and go over some things first. Phoebe Philo was the creative director of Chloe 2001-2006 and was known for her boho chic style and mostly through her dresses and bags (remember the Paddington bag with a huge padlock?). She then takes over as creative director for Céline from 2008-2017, after Michael Kors steps down from his role at the fashion house. There were two other creative directors that followed him, but they only stayed at Céline for a year. The fashion house was owned by LVMH by that time and it was known to be struggling.
Phoebe Philo really made something out of Céline. From her very first collection it was a real mic drop moment, the brand really distinguished itself from the preceding creative directors’ styles and all the other fashion houses at the time. She combined this minimalistic esthetic and clean lines to oversized and well-tailored clothes for the modern working woman, at times collections were very art inspired and colorful, she was well known for her design of leather goods including bags and shoes. There was nothing like it on the market. She defined quiet luxury before we knew it was a thing and that we needed it. By the time she left the fashion house, she left behind a cult following loyalty, the second-hand market for all Céline items grew exponentially, especially after her successor was announced to be Hedi Slimane, who decided to drop the accent (Celine) as he took over as creative director. ‘Phoebe-philes’, coined early on when Philo was still at the maison, were very vocal about this shift, several Instagram accounts were created in honor of Old Céline and her creative work.

When I say that bringing Slimane in was shocking to the fashion world and more so to the Céline fanatics, I mean it. If you asked anyone in 2017, what is the brand that is the polar opposite to Céline, they would probably tell you Saint Laurent. Slimane was the creative director at Saint Laurent 2012-2016. He was famous for the form fitting blazers and suits, his men’s line and more importantly his entire esthetic being much louder and logo focused. Slimane changed Celine’s direction in many ways that I can fit in this blog post. I promise to dedicate a separate post on his current work at Celine. Here it is.

Many brands on the market were heavily inspired by Philo’s movement. Over the years, the Row, The Frankie Shop, COS, and many other fast fashion brands adopted her esthetic – and that speaks to Philo’s legacy.

Philo believes that her personal life should be left private. We know she is a dedicated mother, who likes to spend time with her family. She left Chloe with this intention, and she was very transparent about it. Philo was the first woman to openly talk about leaving work to spend more time with her family. In 2024, as I write this, it wouldn’t be shocking if a woman decided to take a step back in her career for her family. But not in Philo’s times, and I truly respect her for standing up for herself.

 

Photo is property of Phoebe Philo.

 

PHOEBE PHILO NAMESAKE BRAND

Now that we covered the brand’s timeline and a bit of Philo’s history, let’s dive into Pheobe Philo label’s first ever collection. The collection is available online only with no brick-and-mortar stores, no runways, no celebrities or influencers (at least as of yet). Philo’s collection is still a reflection of a woman creating clothes for women. Few items reminded me of her time at Céline.
But she certainly did not pick up where she left off, right? Anyone looking at the photos, or the collection itself realizes that. The brand is on a different dimension than Céline. The collection is no longer screaming Parisian style, it seems more international. There is an element of celebrating aging women, the gracefully aged models, the dark nail polish, the scar, you can see it all. It is edgy, it is raw. We see a lot of skin. An ode to Miuccia Prada perhaps with those briefs. It certainly is still quiet luxury with no logomania. Colors are muted. Then there is a MUM necklace, and that is the creative genius that Philo is. Breaking all boundaries. Thinking about women, celebrating motherhood. The necklace in its silver variation sold out 15 minutes after the collection launched. But then you notice the price point, an 8500 USD leather tote bag, which I could not understand. I am a bag girl, a Céline bag girl more than anything, but I didn’t want any of those bags, not with that price point, just yet.
But the reality is that, she launched 150 items, and as I write this today, less than 10 items are available. The rest are all sold out. The brand has a dedicated page on impact. They share their intention to minimize waste, avoiding mass production and in fact producing less than the ‘anticipated demand’. Which is very commendable, but also a great business strategy when the demand is at cult level having waited for 6 years. We have seen Philo recreate herself under different fashion houses, so I had no doubt that her label would be a success with a different take on the modern woman’s needs.

 

We have to admit that she is incredibly gifted in foreseeing what women will want and need, which most certainly has to do with the fact that she is a woman herself, designing for women. But nevertheless owing to her creative mastermind. 

 

REFLECTIONS

I think it is fair to say that putting a first collection for an established brand, let alone a new fashion house with one’s namesake label, is a huge undertaking. I have no doubt that Philo’s fashion style will evolve further and we will see some very interesting pieces come out of her line. But I think the price point will only increase as the first collection is usually a test for the market.

I still wish that when she launched her pre-fall 2018 collection, she stayed at Céline. I am always going to wonder what would have happened? How the last pieces would have evolved in her next collections. I guess we will never know.

I will continue to follow her creative work, that will never change. But for now, I am hugging my luggage bag a little closer. I am never going to sell it.

 

This post was everything related to Phoebe Philo and her new namesake label’s first ever collection.

 

As always, thank you for stopping by and reading. Click here if you’d like to see & follow my Instagram page @girlontheues.

 

See you next week,

Girl on the Upper East Side

Xx

 

If this interests you, you might enjoy reading my blog post on The Row, Toteme, and Mansur Gavriel. 

 

I have followed Céline and Phoebe Philo for years. I have countless articles. So, my reference list should be longer, but I never kept record of them. Here is one I read recently.