What are some of the most popular luxury brands you think of when you think of France? To be honest, the first that popped into my head was Louis Vuitton. I came to find I wasn’t far off. As I began researching and digging a bit further, it seems some of the most popular and high demand luxury brands from France include Hermès, Chanel, and Givenchy, just to name a few.
If you’re reading this blog, I’m assuming (yes, that’s right, assuming, and I already know what happens when you assume) that you are familiar with the labels I mentioned above, or you’ve at least heard of them before. However, whether you've heard of them or not - you’ve come to the right place! My blog entries will be filled with fun and interesting facts about some of the most beloved luxury brands. In this entry, I will be discussing the newest brand we have added to our merchandise lineup - Chloé.
Right out of the gate, I was fascinated to learn the French fashion house Chloé originated as a clothing line. It was founded by a French fashion designer by the name of Gabrielle Aghion in 1952. In 1953, she and her partner, Jacques Lenoir joined forces, and "were among the first to become aware of the raising demand for collections that could merge the strict requirements of haute couture and those of ready-to-wear."
As I read more about the history of Chloé, I wondered, why the name Chloé? It turned out that Gabrielle Aghion named the luxury brand "after her friend Chloé Huysmans, and orientated it towards the lifestyles of her friends: women who, though well off, did not have the time for fittings for bespoke couture creations. Cue a capsule collection of easy chic separates in soft, body-conscious fabrics – shirt dresses, blouses and sleek silhouettes – that could be worn straight off the peg (hitherto unheard of for designer garments). With this, the term ‘prêt-à-porter’, and fashion as we now know it, was born. Chloé’s first fashion show took place in 1956 at Saint Germain’s famous Café de Flore."
Throughout the years, many young up and coming designers and artistic directors would eventually make a name for themselves working for Chloé: Gérard Pipart, Maxime de La Falaise, Michèle Rosier, Graziella Fontana, Martine Sitbon, Stella McCartney, Phoebe Philo, Hannah MacGibbon and Karl LagerKarl. Lagerfeld was their main designer in 1966, and Chloé became one of the symbolic brands of the 1970s. Lagerfeld later went on to become creative director of the French fashion house Chanel, and was also creative director of the Italian fur and leather goods fashion house Fendi.
It wasn’t until 2002 that Chloé launched a line of bags, small leather goods and shoes along with a new sister line, See By Chloé. Some of their most popular bags are the Paddington bag, the Marcie, the Drew and the Faye.
Chloé has been worn by many celebrities, including Angelina Jolie, Sienna Miller, Madonna, January Jones, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Cameron Diaz, Emma Stone, Reese Witherspoon and Katie Holmes, just to name a few.
Researching Chloé is just the beginning of all of the fun and learning I will be doing when it comes to fashion. I hope you will continue to learn with me! Any and all suggestions of what luxury label you would like to read more about are welcome.
Thank you for reading, and remember, always stay fashion forward.
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