It was since her farewell at the helm of Céline in 2018 that the Philophiles, as her followers called themselves, had been eagerly awaiting this moment.
Two years ago, the British designer, who put motherhood before work for a few years, announced that she would return with an e-commerce site in her name. In July 2023, registration opened on phoebephilo.com. A classic but still flawless marketing strategy to generate interest: make people wait.
Philo's talent is unquestionable. A start to her career as Stella McCartney's assistant, then the handover with Lagerfeld for the direction of Chloé and finally the adventure that has consecrated her as the messiah of minimal, the direction of Celiné.
With the eponymous brand Phoebe Philo behind her as a minority partner LVMH, she debuted yesterday with a total look collection complete with accessories. Only available online, some pieces have already sold out. The MUM bracelet, among them, tells of her maternity period, normalising even in the world of fashion a condition of women without which no world would exist.
In general, the message of the collection is not very clear, and considering the fact that there does not have to be a message in every single collection, it might as well be. Fashion makes, fashion sells.
The garments are exactly what one would expect from Philo: minimalist and well tailored, understated colours and an accompanying Juergen Teller-flavoured (but not Juergen Teller) advertising campaign.
The sore point as always is the bill. The cart average in this case could be very high and certainly four zeros.
On the other hand, an e-commerce that asks for a membership months in advance, in order to allow one to buy what it offers, could only have country club prices in the Hamptons.
These days, lucky them!
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