Natacha Ramsay-Levi Leaving Chloé, *Update* Gabriela Hearst Announced as Creative Director

[shutterbug]

Does anyone know what Hannah is doing now? I must be the only one but I really liked her work and would love to see more.

 

[HeatherAnne]

Does anyone know what Hannah is doing now? I must be the only one but I really liked her work and would love to see more.

I'd love to know. I miss her earthy chic aesthetic.

Anyone heard anything?

 

[disco54]

Me too, its kind of strange, the aesthetic she was much panned for , is starting to surface again and for good reason, it was feminine and flattering. While Claire maybe a hit with the editors, her clothes are thick , heavy handed and I have not bought a pair of pants since Hannah left so thats saying something. I wish hannah all the best! In fact the highest seller right now at Chloe are the high waisted jeans reissue from 2004 (which Phoebe did) .

 

[perhydrol]

Hannah has her own website with personal archive, mainly from her Chloé days and she has been working as a freelancer. That's all I could find.

 

[Scotty]

Damn at this thread bump. I read that as Clare out at Chloé and got excited.

 

[dodencebt]

^ Same!

 

[MyNameIs]

I too figured there were a change at Chloe and got really excited.

 

[GivenchyHomme]

Say what you want to about Hannah but Chloe was actually relevant during her tenure. It's such shame that her last collection bombed because she was so much better than that, the pressure most likely got to her.

 

[HeatherAnne]

Damn at this thread bump. I read that as Clare out at Chloé and got excited.

Fourth!

And then got equally bummed there was not news of MacGibbon being hired somewhere.

Booo.

 

[TaylorBinque]

I really enjoyed her work at Chloe. At least she was much better than Claire. She cut really great pants too. And the ad campaigns were much better.

 

[vetements]

Fourth!

And then got equally bummed there was not news of MacGibbon being hired somewhere.

Booo.

me too! I also love Hannah"s tenure at Chloe.

it s depressing sometimes to learn that the good designers are out and about and the not so good ones (at least at their respective houses now..), off hands i can think of Waight Keller and Kris Van Asche, are still remaining..

 

[bryologue]

Chloé hasn't produced a moneymaker in the last few years (i.e. something close to an 'It' bag), and it is no surprise that she was dropped. Too bad.

 

[sixtdaily]

REPORT: Chloé Poaches New Creative Director from Louis Vuitton

French fashion house Chloé is set to name as its new creative director Natacha Ramsay-Levi, second-in-command to Louis Vuitton designer Nicolas Ghesquiere, sources told Reuters, as the industry braces for a fresh round of leadership changes. The departure of Louis Vuitton's Ramsay-Levi raises questions about the future inner workings of the design studio, headed by Ghesquiere, who made his name at Balenciaga before joining Louis Vuitton in 2013.

The appointment would also mean disruption for Richemont-owned Chloé, as Ramsay-Levi is associated with modern looks involving hard fabrics such as leather and synthetics, at odds with the label's traditional flowing romantic silhouettes. Citing the success of Hedi Slimane at Yves Saint Laurent and Demna Gvasalia at Balenciaga, fashion consultants argue that a new artistic direction, if thought out well, can be good for a brand because it gets consumers' attention and can help boost sales.

Chloé's current creative director, Clare Waight Keller, a mother of three, decided not to renew her contract, which ends in March. Since her family moved back to London from Paris in June, she had been commuting between the two cities and wished to stop, the sources said.

Industry sources have said Ghesquiere could end his collaboration with Louis Vuitton before his contract was up for renewal, which LVMH said was in 2018. Ghesquiere told French TV channel Canal Plus last year he wished to create his own label but did not provide details. In recent months, several fashion recruitment sources said Louis Vuitton executives were actively scouting for a replacement. LVMH and Louis Vuitton declined to comment on Ramsay-Levi's departure.

THE GO-BETWEEN
At Louis Vuitton, Ramsay-Levi was a key member of Ghesquiere's team. As design director, she was the only person the studio's designers and assistants regularly spoke to, as Ghesquiere rarely interacted with them directly, former studio employees told Reuters.

Ramsay-Levi, who worked more than a decade with Ghesquiere at Balenciaga, on top of being his go-between, understood well his creative directions and translated them into concrete looks and products she asked designers to produce.

There has been high staff turnover at Louis Vuitton's design studio the past two years, partly due to the brand's long working hours and stressful environment, former employees have told Reuters. Many studio staff are on three-month or one-month renewable contracts which prevents them from having days off or compensation for over-time.

WWD reported last month that Ramsay-Levi was in talks with Chloé but it did not say Waight Keller had decided not to renew her contract. Waight Keller, who had joined Chloé in 2011 from Pringle of Scotland where she was artistic director and worked at Gucci, Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren, is parting ways on a high note, the sources said.

Cartier owner Richemont said in November the French label "enjoyed a geographically broad-based double-digit growth rate (in half-year sales), largely driven by leather," helped by the popularity of the Drew and Faye leather bags.

thefashionlaw

 

[Scotty]

Shes finally out?! Thank god!

At least this one wasn't a messy situation. I don't know much about the new person, we'll see though.

 

[Lola701]

It's funny i was talking about that with a friend the other day.
It's a sign of the time for them hiring Natacha RL. And it's also a good indication of Nicolas leaving Vuitton sooner...

I've heard about Hedi Slimane doing Vuitton but it's only a rumor at this time.

She can be the one who finally break the "Vintage Autopilot" mode of Chloé. She is very parisian and was very present in the parisian scene.

I wonder who between Marie Amelie Sauve and Camille Bidault Waddington will be her stylist at Chloe.

I'm happy for her and for Chloé.

As for Clare, she did great things and finally, Chloé was hot again but in the end, it felt tired maybe.
I hope she finds a beautiful house to work for in England.

 

[GivenchyHomme]

This was long overdue. Claire made good clothes but she didn't make fashion. Chloe is such a historic brand and it needs to be out there more. I can't wait to see what Natacha does.

 

[HeatherAnne]

I wanted to be ecstatic about this news, and then I have to read that the girl who is famous for being Oliver Zahm's girlfriend is going to be the head designer.

F this sh*t!!!!

Yeah, I know she "worked with Ghesquire" but she's nothing more than an it girl.

The fashion industry is seriously stupid right now.

 

[Thefrenchy]

I was made aware of it a few months ago and I can't say it surprised me. It's fair enough that she'd want to stop commuting between Paris and London... I never particularly cared about Chloé as they're this brand that simply makes "nice clothes" to me. There is something very easy about them and I don't expect $F A S H I O N$ from them. If I want to buy a nice, easy, safe piece for my mother, I'll go there and know that I will always find something that she will like. Further proof to this is that, despite making most of their profit thanks to their bags, their RTW has been selling very well (which is quite rare for fashion brands as we know).

I hope Zahm's girlfriend won't turn it into a try-hard brand... Sometimes stability is good and if there's one brand that's allowed to be beige, it's Chloé -- non?

 

[softgrey]

chloe is gorgeous as it is...
it's just outrageously expensive for bohemian dresses...

i don't think they need a new design direction, i think they just need to reevaluate their production and bring prices down...

if they added a little hardware to the boho look, that would make it really modern and edgier...

mix stevie nicks with chrissie hynde...
a good mix imho...

sounds like the incoming designer might have the chops for that sort of thing...

 

[perhydrol]

I can't say I'm surprised but I don't know if Chloé will keep its position in the industry, I mean it's really successful now and has an actual impact on high street, even if the collections have been boring or fugly since 2014. Yet the last collection had some good pieces, but to be honest I prefer Clare's first five collections for the house. I just hope that she won't be the next Hannah that just dissapeared because I believe she is still able to create cool pieces.

And personally speaking I don't think they're gonna bring prices down, they have that cheaper See by Chloé line for that.