She’s finally here! Phoebe Philo’s first collection has been online since October 30, 2023. And most of the pieces are already sold out, despite their very high prices.
July 2021. The reference site Business of Fashion announces that Phoebe Philo is preparing to launch its own brand in partnership with the luxury group LVMH (Dior, Louis Vuitton, Givenchy…). Information that fashionistas have been hoping to read since the designer left the Céline house (which was then still written with an accent) in 2018.Being in my studio and creating again has been both exciting and incredibly satisfying. I look forward to reconnecting with my audience and an international audience. Being independent, leading and experimenting according to my own desires is extremely important to me“, declared the designer in a press release. Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH (Dior, Louis Vuitton, Celine, Givenchy…) explained for his part the commitment of the French group to the British : “We know and appreciate [la créatrice] since a long time. Phoebe Philo has contributed to the group’s success for years through her sublime creations. This is why I am very happy to partner with Phoebe in her entrepreneurial adventure and wish her immense success“.
For LVMH, being a minority investor in Phoebe Philo’s brand allows the company to fill an absence in the current fashion landscape. For ten years, the designer imagined within it (Celine belongs to Bernard Arnault’s luxury company) cutting-edge, yet wearable creationsfeminine, but not girly, sophisticated without being snobbish, which still fascinate fashion lovers. On Instagram, accounts like @oldceline or @phoebephilodiary abound. They celebrate the designer’s style and allow her aficionados to unearth some of the gems she imagined between 2008 and 2018. Sleek accessories, clothes that give power, a palette of neutral tones illuminated by bright sparkles.. .
After months of suspense, the collection is finally available
For eighteen months, waiting and silence. Until Thursday February 9, 2023, when an Instagram account in the name of the designer appears and publishes a message on a black background: “Our inaugural collection will be revealed and available on our website, phoebephilo.com, in September 2023. We will open registrations in July 2023 and look forward to connecting with you again at that time“. An announcement that made her fans react, from the fashion popess of Instagram Eva Chen (“We are ready“), to the influencer Camille Charrière (“A wait worth it“) through the singer Lily Allen (“I won’t buy anything anymore until September“). No doubt, the fashionistas are already in the starting blocks. However, the next day, the post is deleted. Just to increase the suspense?
THE Monday October 30, 2023, the wait is finally over, more than a month late. Phoebe Philo’s first collection is online. The designer’s fan base was informed by an email and rushed to buy the clothes on sale. And the verdict is almost unanimous: from an aesthetic point of view, all the expectations of fashionistas are met. Here, a oversized white blouse impeccably cut, there, one preppy biker leather jacket, not forgetting immaculate feathered pants. Creations that come in neutral shades: gray, white, black and khaki reign supreme over the collection and proclaim to anyone who will listen that the allure quiet luxury is here to stay. But if the return of Phoebe Philo excites fashionistas, some critics are being heard. The lack of representation of bodies in the casting chosen to stage the collection is criticized, but what surprises the most are the exorbitant prices of the products. A leather tote with a minimalist design sells out 6,800 eurosa white polyester brooch made in Madagascar is worth 850 euroswhile a tight viscose dress covered in sequins costs 14,000 euros.
Luxury always has a price, of course, but when you buy Saint Laurent, Chanel or Hermès, it is a heritage name that you are buying, and therefore a certain social status to which you have the impression of access. Phoebe Philo is celebrated, even revered, by fashion fans. Has this handful of stylists, image consultants, press editors, communications and marketing professionals the means to afford your products ? Not sure. Will it succeed in seducing the ultra-rich who have nothing stopping them from purchasing a viscose coat at a price so high that it is not even displayed on the site? This remains to be proven. The only certainty: 24 hours after the launch of its eshop, of the 104 products in the collection, 69 are already sold out. History does not say in what quantities they were available when they were put online, but what is certain is that as expensive as they were, they found buyers.