The return of Phoebe Philo is becoming clearer. After six years of absence, the designer will present her first collection in her name in September 2023.
July 2021. The reference site Business of Fashion announces that Phoebe Philo is preparing to launch its own brand in partnership with the LVMH group. Information that fashionistas have been hoping to read for the departure of the British designer from the head of the Céline brand in 2018, who in the meantime lost his accent and gained Hedi Slimane as artistic director. “Being in my studio and creating again has been both exciting and incredibly satisfying. I can’t wait to be in contact with my audience and an international audience again. Being independent, leading and experimenting according to my own desires is extremely important to me.“, thus declared the creator by way of press release.
For eighteen months, waiting and silence. Until Thursday, February 9, 2023, when an Instagram account in the name of the designer appeared and published 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 Instagram’s fashion popess Eva Chen (“We are ready“), to the influencer Camille Charrière (“A wait worth it“) to singer Lily Allen (“I don’t buy anything again until September“). No doubt, the fashionistas are already in the starting blocks.
What could Phoebe Philo’s brand look like with LVMH?
In July 2021, Bernard Arnault confided in a press release : “We know and appreciate [Phoebe Philo] 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 join Phoebe in her entrepreneurial adventure and wish her immense success.“.
For LVMH, being a minority investor in Phoebe Philo’s brand allows the French group to fill a gap in the current fashion landscape. For ten years, the British designer imagined within her (Celine belongs to the luxury company of Bernard Arnault) sharp but 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 nuggets she imagined between 2008 and 2018. Sleek accessories, clothes that give power, a palette of neutral tones illuminated by bright sparkles.. Phoebe Philo’s fan base is certainly counting the days that separate her from the launch of its brand in September 2023…