Chloe Taps New Designer

[chloehandbags]

I have high hopes for Hannah MacGibbon at Chloe. I was interested to learn from the WWD article that she played a key role in the launch and styling of the new Chloe fragrance. Personally, I love the perfume campaign and the choice of models, - I feel it is very much in tune with the Chloe vibe. So hopefully, Hannah will give us something we want.

ITA.

I really like the Chloe Fragrance ads, too and feel they are very 'Chloe'.

 

[JuiceMajor]

I'm almost certain he did. Marni is headed by Consuelo Castiglioni who is the creative director, but she's not a designer. Paulo was the brand's senior designer. He was responsible for the actual fabrics, design details, shape, fit, and overall sensibilities. If you look at Marni Spring 07 and Chloe Fall 07 you can see a distinct vocabulary used in both shows. But if you look at Marni 07 you can see something missing.

I would sum up the feel Paulo has as being very easy, unstructured, almost as if he lets the the fabric fall, flattering unexpected parts of the body, and allows that do all the work. I think his lean towards quirk and awkwardness was amazing for Marni, a generally older women's label that has a reputation on subversively breaking the rules, but the Chloe girl doesn't break the rules, she only slightly bends them. I think this is why Paulo had such a hard time.

THANK you for the information. BTW, I wasn't really doubting you before but merely interested to find out more as I always assumed that Consuelo Castiglioni is the designer and creative director (although I might need a clear distinction between the two) of Marni. I certainly luv the quirk of Marni and that's the reason why I like it.

I would put PAM in the same category as KvA, as designers who are most creative under the direction of someone I think. Maybe he should go back to working for Marni.

I like the scent as well as the whole bottle/packaging of the perfume but am not sure about the ribbon. I never like it when you can remove something from a perfume bottle.

 

[chloehandbags]

Philo really only did the baby doll as a total look one time! that collection was just the most well known and most copied.

True.

Thanks for putting the record straight.

The design team and Yvan (who I don't, personally, rate that highly, BTW) tried to continue the look, after she left, but that's hardly her fault, is it?

I would highly recommend anyone, who believes Philo only did babydoll dresses, to check out the 8 Philo for Chloe collections, on style.com; starting with the beginning of her tenure in S/S '02 and ending with her last collection of S/S '06 (the 'babydoll' season

http://www.style.com/fashionshows/designerdirectory/CHLOE/seasons/​

As has been mentioned, previously, please exclude A/W '05 from judgment, as that was entirely created by the design team, while Philo was pregnant.

 

[Grill]

^ I certainly don't think Philo only did baby doll dresses. I loved her collections - she did fantastic wearable clothes that were feminine and luxurious but not stuffy. Always, some super coats and jackets too. The only reason I mentioned a "chloe-rut" was to describe the loose flowing smocky style dresses and tops which have been almost an ever-present feature of high street fashion since. It's a style which seems more a hangover from the fall 06 collection which was Yvan Mispelare (sp?) rather than anything Phoebe herself did.

Looking back at those past collections on Style.com reminds me of how great the house was under Philo. There was a certain sexiness which has been missing since her departure.

 

[donyan]

fact is, that whole aera is gone , Chloe had to change at least slightly in order to stay interesting, and there is a whole move towards "less girly" anyway. Paolo was perfect because he would have moved Chloe forward, and it would have just taken a little time for press and buyers to follow..(it usually does)
They will probably find themselves in a situation where the house continues as before but with the magic gone. (see Gucci) which will be good for sales in the short run, the future , however , is another question.

 

[chloehandbags]

^ I certainly don't think Philo only did baby doll dresses. I loved her collections - she did fantastic wearable clothes that were feminine and luxurious but not stuffy. Always, some super coats and jackets too. The only reason I mentioned a "chloe-rut" was to describe the loose flowing smocky style dresses and tops which have been almost an ever-present feature of high street fashion since. It's a style which seems more a hangover from the fall 06 collection which was Yvan Mispelare (sp?) rather than anything Phoebe herself did.

Oh, I wasn't aiming that comment at you, Grill, as I agreed with your post and I do think Chloe (under the design team and Yvan) was getting a bit stuck in a rut (and not even a particularly interesting, or attractive, rut, at that!), I just wanted to point out that that rut was not Philo's.

I was aiming the comment at certain people who casually say things like; 'i jsut hope this twice mentioned femininity she is known for doesnt turn into a baby-doll parade (which is what i can remember phoebe for during so many years...'. So, one season = 'so many years', now, does it?

I just wanted to point out that the babydoll thing wasn't, primarily, Philo's doing and that there was a lot more to her work.

How would they like it if they worked for a company for 4 years, left and then were blamed for everything that company did for the next year?

Looking back at those past collections on Style.com reminds me of how great the house was under Philo. There was a certain sexiness which has been missing since her departure.

ITA.

 

[chloehandbags]

fact is, that whole aera is gone , Chloe had to change at least slightly in order to stay interesting, and there is a whole move towards "less girly" anyway.

Which era do you mean? Philo's 'era' or the two seasons after Philo left?

If you mean the former, Philo did move the house on, often fairly dramatically, every season and if she'd continued there, I'm sure she would have continued to do so.

The Chloe house is known for its femininity, but that femininity does not have to be girly and Philo's style was not inherently girly, anyway.

I totally agree that the house should not stand still (as it didn't under Karl, Stella, or Phoebe), but I don't agree that Paulo was the man for the job, unfortunately.

 

[donyan]

If you mean the former, Philo did move the house on, often fairly dramatically, every season and if she'd continued there, I'm sure she would have continued to do so.

I completely agree, she is a brilliant designer who would have intuitively moved the collection forward.
What I meant was the era of extremely feminine clothes, fashion seems to be moving towards a more structured style,one reason why Chloe worked so well was that it was the right style at the right moment. With fashion moving forward, that moment may have passed, so I think Chloe has to evolve, and it did, dramatically so, with PMA, maybe too dramatically, but it seemed a confident move. What they're doing now does not.

 

[fashionista-ta]

It simply wasn't a good fit. I don't think anyone holds it against Paulo.

What he did for Marni was amazing but somehow his efforts to translate it for Chloe seemed really forced and and not nearly as desirable as Marni under his influence or the collections the Chloe team had done on their own.

According to the WWD article from this Tuesday Hannah Macgibbon was originally considered for the job but had turned it down. A few of you already mentioned but she should have taken over from the beginning, I agree

Personally I'm sad Yvan Mispleare is no longer there as his talents are being wasted at Gucci.

I wonder where Paulo will head to now? I must say these few collections he did don't speak well for his ability to work in sync with a brand's idenity or demonstrate a level of restraint.


hmmm...
If Prada was smart they'd hire him immediately.

It would be quite interesting to know why she turned it down. I wonder if she was afraid of the 'successor backlash' (a la Deborah Norville)

 

[Deleted member 7575]

It would be quite interesting to know why she turned it down. I wonder if she was afraid of the 'successor backlash' (a la Deborah Norville)

It was probably more simple than that, she may have been happy with what she did and didn't want the added stress and responsibility. Perhaps she didn't want her name and image broadcasted across the fashion media and consequently lose some of her privacy. Or possibly she didn't feel she was ready.

It's not odd at all to think someone would prefer not to have a high profile job in fashion especially if it's for a well known and heavily watched label.

I think her experience as a designer behind the scenes and her creative direction in the Chloe perfume campaigns have removed her doubts as well as for those running the company. I'm sure they gave her an offer she couldn't refuse.

The aesthetic of the perfume ads are great and tapping Chloe Sevigny is perfect. It seems like she has a good handle on the brand and knows where to take it conceptually. If the ads are anything to go by it's a really good sign. I'll be anticipating her debut even more than I did with Paulo.

But I've thought about it, we can't rule out the possibility that Paulo was given a better offer somewhere else and has moved on to bigger things.

 

[Marnii]

Lol, I love how someone said she was responsible for 'styling' the perfume campaign.

Umm...I don't know how you can exactly style someone when they're naked but I think people are giving her labels so that we have some indicator of her success.

Plus, I can bet my LIFE, that come Spring, people will be disappointed with her collection for Chloe.
There will be at LEAST two Philo-era fans that will absolutely rip her apart and criticize her beyond what is morally acceptable!! It's a vicious cycle of refusing to accept change at the house of Chloe and its going to go on and on and on...

 

[chloehandbags]

Plus, I can bet my LIFE, that come Spring, people will be disappointed with her collection for Chloe.
There will be at LEAST two Philo-era fans that will absolutely rip her apart and criticize her beyond what is morally acceptable!! It's a vicious cycle of refusing to accept change at the house of Chloe and its going to go on and on and on...

Whether, or not, people like her first collection, when the time comes, I think it's an extremely inaccurate assumption (and a rather cheap shot) to suggest that, just because people didn't like PMA's Chloe, they are unwilling to accept change, of any kind, at the house.

So, according to you, no one can say that they dislike someone's work, just in case people may think that they are stuck in a rut? Even though they frequently embrace change, for the better, in other collections?

As I say, Philo was never stuck in a rut during her tenure and her designs were renowned for being extremely fashion-forward, for the time, so why would you assume that her fans are?

You liked PMA at Chloe, because you like Marni and were happy to see Marni Mark II, that's crystal clear and that's absolutely fine; but please don't make assumptions about long-term Chloe fans, just because they didn't feel the same way.

 

[disco54]

^^^^ exactly thats a very silly ideology to suggest that because Paulo sucked , other designers will to , I have been a long time chloe customer and worked for a year at their store , so Marnii , dont castigate the chloe customer , your acting like they are ditzoids , Chloe girls are very intelligent girls . As far styling a parfum , yeah it takes a lot of time and effort to develop a parfum , its quite rude to look down upon people who do develop parfumes .

 

[disco54]

btw "girly " isnt a trend , girls arent trends , Chloe has always been the chloe girl never a chloe women just like YSL is the YSL woman and praising the marnification of Chloe which thank god has ended is just straight up ridiculous , we already have marni , we dont need a marni clone .

 

[DriversHigh]

Chloé is the revolving door fashion house isn't it?

 

[Grill]

Lol, I love how someone said she was responsible for 'styling' the perfume campaign.

Umm...I don't know how you can exactly style someone when they're naked but I thin k people are giving her labels so that we have some indicator of her success.

This is a very trite way of interpreting the concept of "styling". A lot of time, money and thought goes into advertising at this level. Just because the Poesey, Rubik and Sevigny are not wearing clothing from Chloe collections doesn't mean that it was in anyway easier to style this shoot than any other. Possibly they choose to style the girls without clothing because they wanted to capture an essence of the brand - rather than limit it to a certain period in time as represented by clothing from a certain collection.

As a Chloe customer from the Philo days - I certainly didn't arrive in store with a PMA predjudice. In fact I purchased a few pieces from last prefall and again some from the current cruise collection and I will hopefully be buying a few pieces come fall. However, shopping in the boutique, examining the merchandise, chatting with the SAs you get the idea that this PMA thing isn't working even if some customers are delighted with the change.

While I am not sad to see PMA go (he wasn't right for Chloe and he did have a chance). I certainly didn't approach the concept of fresh blood for chloe with predjudice and I am keen to see MacGibbons' first collection for Chloe come Sept/Oct this year.

PS - I wonder who will be doing cruise 08 for the house?

 

[cette fille]

phoebe! i miss her so much......

 

[Marnii]

Whether, or not, people like her first collection, when the time comes, I think it's an extremely inaccurate assumption (and a rather cheap shot) to suggest that, just because people didn't like PMA's Chloe, they are unwilling to accept change, of any kind, at the house.

I never made reference to people not accepting change because they didn't like PMA. What I meant is that many people are very critical of any Chloe collection that wasn't designed by Phoebe. Look in the Fall 2006, Spring 2007 threads and you will find many people who say that it wasn't as good as Philo or something along these lines. This is what I mean by "refusing to accept change". People will never embrace another designer at the reigns of Chloe. It's a huge assumption but a true one, based on popular opinion on past non-Philo collections

So, according to you, no one can say that they dislike someone's work, just in case people may think that they are stuck in a rut? Even though they frequently embrace change, for the better, in other collections?

As I say, Philo was never stuck in a rut during her tenure and her designs were renowned for being extremely fashion-forward, for the time, so why would you assume that her fans are?

Secondly, I have no idea what these paragraphs are on about. What do you mean I think that 'no one can say that they dislike someones work just in case people may think that they are stuck in a rut?'??? I don't get what you are accusing me of! lol

You liked PMA at Chloe, because you like Marni and were happy to see Marni Mark II, that's crystal clear and that's absolutely fine; but please don't make assumptions about long-term Chloe fans, just because they didn't feel the same way.

I'm sorry, this really offends me. Just because my name happens to be Marnii, does not mean that I necessarily love PMA at Chloe.

I like what he did in terms of transition because I personally believe that the dwelling on Philo at Chloe was getting frustrating, to say at the least. He pushed it foward and this is what I respect

 

[Marnii]

^^^^ exactly thats a very silly ideology to suggest that because Paulo sucked , other designers will to , I have been a long time chloe customer and worked for a year at their store , so Marnii , dont castigate the chloe customer , your acting like they are ditzoids , Chloe girls are very intelligent girls . As far styling a parfum , yeah it takes a lot of time and effort to develop a parfum , its quite rude to look down upon people who do develop parfumes .

I never said that!!

I never undermined the intelligence of a Chloe customer also, intelligence has nothing to do with disatisfaction. I was merely saying that a lot of people, not necessarily a Chloe customer, are highly critical of Chloe and it's identity/aesthetic post-Phoebe Philo

Plus, I know for a fact that there are a lot of people involved with developing and creating an advertisement for a perfume, but none get credited. Why mention Hannah as a stylist?
I am saying that people are (unnecessarily) adding irrelevant things to Hannah's 'resume' in order to justify that she is talented, a good designer and behind things that are financially successful.
It's a means of justification for her talent, for people that are sceptical of her as a designer

 

[Deleted member 7575]

Lol, I love how someone said she was responsible for 'styling' the perfume campaign.

Umm...I don't know how you can exactly style someone when they're naked but I think people are giving her labels so that we have some indicator of her success.

do you have her pulled back or let down? Up or to the side? blonde? brunette?, more or less highlights? Make up? There's many options for that as well.

black and white film or color? Which photographer is going to shoot the campaign? Where do you place the logo in the ad? How big should it be? How is the model going to clutch the bottle? How does she pose? How does she gaze?

Is this going to sell the perfume? Does it sell the brand?

Those are the questions creative directors ask, don't be so quick to scoff at it.