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CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF FRENCH FASHION
By Jasmine Caccamo
French fashion house Chloe, which shot to fame in the 1970s, and is remembered for dressing style icons Grace Kelly and Jackie Kennedy, will return to its home on the Left Bank of Paris for a 50th birthday celebration.
Created by Egyptian born Gaby Aghion, and her French partner Jacques Lenoir, both invented styles that were luxurious and ready-to-wear, combined with the concept of modern femininity. Together, the duo unveiled their first collection over breakfast at the Cafe de Flore, the famed Left Bank hangout of existentialists and novelists.Although Aghion sold her line 18 years ago to a Swiss luxury goods firm known as Richemont, she returned to France, at the Café de Flore, where she celebrated Chloe’s accomplishments along with many of the designers who made the name famous.
Aghinon launched her career by designing her own clothes and selling them to smaller Paris boutiques. From that point, she ceded creative control at Chloe to a select group of designers, who are still to this day, fashions most prominent fashion designers.
Among those select group of Chloe designers was Gerard Pipart, who was part of the initial wave of French designers. In 1957 he helped transform the Chloe designs into to a success.
Chloe rose to international prominence when German designer Karl Lagerfeld took the reins as creative director from 1965 to 1983 and again from 1992 to 1997.
Lagerfeld created the idea of Bohemian ethnic designs, using fine fabrics and floral prints that instantly became a classic. During his tenure as head designer in 1974, Chloe launched a perfume by the same name, which remains a success today.
Lagerfeld left Chloe for Chanel in 1983 and two years later, Aghion and Lenoir sold their share of the company to Dunhill Holdings, which is now Richemont.
Among the talented designers who followed in Lagerfeld's footsteps was Martine Sitbon, who held sway at Chloe from 1988 to 1992.
In 1997, the label, which had been losing its influence in Paris fashion circles, called in a young and well known talent, Stella McCartney, daughter of the former Beatle, Paul, and a graduate of London's celebrated Saint Martin's school.
McCartney gave Chloe a full makeover, making the collections both sexier and edgier, but then left in 2001 to start her own label as part of Gucci.
Britain's Phoebe Philo, another Saint Martin's graduate and a former assistant to McCartney at Chloe, subsequently took the reins, giving the label just as much sensuality and energy as did her predecessor.
Chloe chairman Ralph Toledano, feels that the reason Chloe is such a strong fashion line, is because of the loyalty of the designers.
"If the house has survived for 50 years, it's also because Gaby Aghion left behind a true creative spirit which the designers have emulated,” Toledano said, adding, "We don't invent fashion. The house has never been opportunistic but has always launched trends. Nothing gives us more pleasure than to see an article of clothing, a bag or glasses worn by a pretty woman in the street."
Like many other fashion houses looking to boost revenues and sales, Chloe branched out a few years ago, expanding its accessories line and launching a second ready-to-wear line.
In 2002, Chloe posted consolidated sales of 150 million euros (162 million dollars), 40 percent from Europe, about 30 percent in the United States and another 22 percent in Japan alone.
Chloe has exceptionally represented French fashion as being well known, stylish, and sophisticated. Its rein of 50 years is only a beginning, and the extraordinary designers hope to create 50 more years of unique styles.