Word: philos
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...movies, it's Natalie Portman. in music, it's Norah Jones. And in fashion, it's Phoebe Philo. "It," in this case, refers to a woman who, without much hype or hoopla, emerges as the leader of the pack in her field, the swan the others paddle behind like cygnets. All three women are young and down-to-earth. And everybody wants a piece of them, or in Philo's case, as many pieces - bags, skirts, dresses - as they can afford. But unlike Portman or Jones, Philo is not yet a household name. She is the 31-year-old creative...
Crucially, Philo's smart sensibility extends to handbags, the heavy artillery in many labels' arsenals. The clothes are lovely, but accessories make money. This season's Paddington bag by Chloé, which retails for $1,280, has generated multipage waiting lists at several boutiques around the world. In London, the police were called into Chloé's Sloane Street boutique to discuss security surrounding the arrival of a shipment of bags...
Ralph Toledano, Chloe's CEO, took a gamble on Philo. When she was offered the top job, she was a rebellious, unknown assistant with a penchant for gold teeth, diamante-studded nails and hip-hop. Although many fashion insiders credited her street smarts for Chloe's success during McCartney's tenure, she was not an obvious choice to reinvent a 50-year-old brand that had not been a fashion must-have for the past 20. (Nor was she an obvious champion for the soft, romantic look she helped revive.) Philo herself seemed surprised, telling people she had been given...
...fashion wasn't even Philo's first love. The daughter of a graphic designer and a surveyor, she initially studied sculpture and painting at London's Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design but switched to fashion as a more practical career choice. McCartney, a friend, offered her a job with Chloe in Paris, and by the time she was 27, Philo was at the label's helm. But this is not an All About Eve story. In a business in which many designers crave the spotlight and egos frequently outpace talent, Philo is nonchalant, modest and (brace yourself...
Even with all this success, Philo remains as cool and breezy as her washed-silk peasant skirts. "I still don't really understand who I'm designing for," she says on the phone from Venice, where she is taking in the Biennale with her husband, art dealer Max Wigram. "It's definitely not me. I wear jeans and T shirts and comfy shoes. I really don't dress up at all." It must be that sixth sense of style...