The Guardian (USA)

‘Hallelujah!’ the wait for Phoebe Philo’s comeback is almost over

- Jess Cartner-Morley

The most talked about designer of this season did not have a fashion show at all. She was nowhere to be seen over a month of shows in New York, London, Paris or Milan. Yet despite not having made a single coat, dress or shirt for six years, and never once posting on Instagram, Phoebe Philo was the name on everyone’s lips on every front row.

Finally, on the last weekend of Paris fashion week, Philo made a fashionabl­y late entrance, announcing that she would make her long-awaited return on 30 October.

The industry had been on red alert since July, when a sparsely worded message on her website invited shoppers to register for a mailing list. A September release date was understood to be pencilled in. The reaction among fashion devotees to confirmati­on of a new era of Phoebe Philo fashion was as instant and fervent as that of Swifties hearing that new dates are being added to the Eras tour. “Hallelujah!!”, “OMG yes please take all my money” and “finally the drought is over” were among the hundreds of comments that appeared instantly online.

The clothes, which will go on sale on 30 October, are as yet a mystery. The announceme­nt was accompanie­d by a montage of flashing images: black leather, white feathers, sunglasses, gold studs, graphic earrings, unmade-up faces and high-shine surfaces. The Phoebe Philo name in pillar-box red is splashed across each one, but the clothes remain mysterious for now.

Philo was the British queen of Paris fashion week for almost a decade at the French house of Céline, transformi­ng that house into a talismanic name that represente­d not just what modern women wanted to wear, but how they wanted to be seen. To wear Céline during the Philo era of 2008-2017 stood for having both brains and an eye for beauty, sophistica­tion without fuss, elegance with ease. It made shoulderpa­dded power dressing look clumsy and traditiona­l glamour look old-fashioned.

The fashion industry, generally inclined to be snippy about almost everyone, worshipped Philo. Grand fashion editors unashamedl­y fan-girled her. And then, at the height of her powers, she announced she was leaving Céline. Ever enigmatic, she gave little explanatio­n, other than citing her family as her priority.

Soon after news emerged on the fashion grapevine that Philo had hired a design studio and team in London and was planning a comeback. This was confirmed in July 2021, when an eponymous label was announced. LVMH, who as the owners of Céline had been Philo’s bosses in Paris, took a minority stake. In an industry with a short attention span and where speed is of the essence, it was assumed that a show date or a sneak-peek collection was imminent. But the trail then went dark for another year – until now.

Philo began her career as design assistant to her friend Stella McCartney at Chloé in 1997, directly after the pair had graduated from Central Saint Martins. They brought London energy and It-girl high jinx to the hitherto gentle house of Chloé, a formula that Philo kept alive when she took over the top role at the house five years later, McCartney having left to set up her own label.

Under Philo, Chloé became one of the fastest-growing brands in fashion, with a distinctiv­e line of elevated boho chic ready-to-wear and a string of hit handbags.

The first sign that Philo would not play by the establishe­d rules of the industry came when she took maternity leave after the birth of her daughter, Maya, becoming the first designer at that level to do so. Soon after, she left Chloé and its gruelling Paris commute, spending four years raising her family in London before taking up the offer of Céline.

“It was good to take a break, but I love working, I love being part of a team, and I love fashion,” she told the New York Times at the time. In the same interview, she mentioned that she

 ?? ?? Phoebe Philo in 2010. Her collection will go on sale on 30 October.
Phoebe Philo in 2010. Her collection will go on sale on 30 October.
 ?? Photograph: Gonzalo Fuentes/ Reuters ?? Phoebe Philo appears at the end of her spring/summer 2011 collection for Céline in Paris in 2010.
Photograph: Gonzalo Fuentes/ Reuters Phoebe Philo appears at the end of her spring/summer 2011 collection for Céline in Paris in 2010.

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