Joan Didion, shot by Juergen Teller for Céline

Versace SS 2008

One can’t help but wonder if the woman who these clothes were designed for felt a bit lost. Of course there will always be avant-garde designers who have their specific following. Rick Owens and Rei Kawakubo are examples of that. The problem in the 2000’s was that even the largest and most commercial brands wanted to hop on the train with low rise jeans and dresses that ended just below one’s private parts. However, they still needed to sell the clothes, which also needed to be priced at a suitable point for the brand. The most likely audience to enjoy these garments may not have been the most consumption prone one. The most commercial fashion houses biggest consumer group in terms of ready to wear has always statistically been women above the age of 30. Women who probably work in a sophisticated office or spend their days attending lunches or charity events. Not occasions where a stereotypical 2000’s off the runway outfit would be considered appropriate. On the other hand, the trending styles of the time were hits as well for the fashion houses, at least in terms of publicity. Although the young people who worshiped Paris, Lindsay and Britney might not have been able to afford a slinky Versace dress or a Louis Vuitton purse, they were able to buy into the image of the brand. Fashion is just as much a business as car manufacturing or tech development, which means that most brands want to sell as much as possible and reach as many demographics as possible. Therefore, they usually have a wide range of cheaper accessories and beauty products, so while most teenagers were unable to buy Versace dresses, many of them were able to afford either perfumes or sunglasses, for example. It’s a strategy that worked very well at the time due to the fact that the 2000’s were notorious for being a celebrity obsessed era with tabloids constantly exposing young women and their private lives. That makes one draw the conclusion that although one of the largest demographics of luxury fashion might have been unable to relate to the trend of this era, the luxury fashion industry did not suffer from it.

From approximately 2003 to 2010, the general trends in luxury fashion stayed roughly the same. Low waistline on pants, short hemlines on dresses and high heels. While this is still prevalent in many fashion houses' collections, there were “enfants terribles” like Demna Gvasalia at Vêtements and Balenciaga who took the fashion world by storm in the middle of the 2010’s. Simultaneously, in the 2000’s, the ones who are notorious for not conforming to trends like Miuccia Prada seemed to fall in line with the other designers’ visions at the time, whether intentional or not.

Prada FW 2006

So when Phoebe Philo was appointed creative director at Céline in 2009, something in the fashion atmosphere shifted. Born in Paris to British parents, Philo began her fashion career at the famous Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London as a design student. After graduation, she joined her friend Stella McCartney as design assistant at Chloë. After McCartney’s departure from the brand in 2001, philo took over as creative director. A red line through her fashion career has been her ability to blow life into what could be considered “sleepy” fashion brands. At Chloë, she introduced the Paddington bag, which became a huge success and looked back upon as a staple in the early 2000’s. After a discreet, yet successful run at Chloë, Philo was appointed creative director at Céline in 2008 and debuted her first collection the following year. At the time it was a fashion house that, just like Chloë before Philo’s arrival, had been considered passé. Her own persona and style is what many critics consider her route to triumph at Céline. Philo herself often dresses leisurely in chunky cashmere turtlenecks, oversized mens suit trousers and sneakers that at the time were associated with practicality and even lack of style such as New Balances and Adidas Stan Smith’s.

When the era of Phoebe Philo at Céline began, her creations were revolutionary in the sense that they pleased a desire that the adult female fashion consumer had been having during the previous decade. It was liberating, because of the introduction of oversized silhouettes which frankly had never been in trend outside of subcultures. There was no juxtaposition like in the 1980’s where a wide shouldered blazer was paired with tight trousers, instead entire looks consisted of loose fitting garments. She had an eye for women who lived a life where an outfit would be functional and chic for multiple parts of the day, dropping kids off at school, work and a dinner out and about. A journalist at The Guardian said that Philo’s designs made them feel “invisible, but good”. The person wearing the clothes doesn't strike you as anyone special, just someone with taste who knows where to find an incredibly well tailored white shirt. To give an example of what an extraordinary influence Philo had, after creating her own luxurious version of the Birkenstock Arizona, the shoe that had previously been frowned upon by fashionable people, became increasingly popular to the point where the German company got listed on the stock market and today it’s not rare to see people roaming the streets of major cities in the comfortable and functional sandal. Céline’s marketing strategy also reflected the wearability of the clothes. Often shot by Juergen Teller, the shots were minimal and always put the garments in focus, except for when they also showcased the everyday life that they were suited for. This was a stray away from the heavily retouched and glamorous fashion advertisements of the 2000’s.

The stray away from glitz and glamour has made many label Philo as a minimalist. The financial crisis the year prior to her entrance at Céline made Philo fall right into place with the times since it was not optimal nor perhaps tasteful to brag with eye catching luxury. A perfect opportunity for her to shine with her discreet yet distinctive style. She has however stated that the term minimalism doesn’t resonate with her, according to herself she creates a style that is simply clean. A term that might feel more modern in the 2020’s is “quiet luxury”. Gaining frequency on TikTok, the term has become popular to describe fashion that lacks labels, but if you know, you know the price and quality of the well cut camel colored wool coat or the beige cashmere sweater. It is also a term that encapsulates the work of Phoebe Philo, but also contemporary designers like Mathieu Blazy at Bottega Veneta, Daniel Lee at Burberry and Peter Do. Funny enough, Daniel Lee worked as design assistant under Phoebe Philo at Céline, which shows that although not active in the fashion industry, she remains influential.

Then, what happens when Philo creates her own eponymous label? In 2018 Philo parted ways with Céline after nine years of working for the brand. Interestingly enough, her departure seemed to have been equally in line with the time as her arrival. In 2018, Alessandro Michele was at his peak with his maximalist designs for Gucci, completely opposite of Philo’s work. During her time at Céline, Philo had gained a cult following that most fashion designers outside of the avantgarde sphere have not accomplished to do. The reason behind this might be because of her impeccable eye for what is great design. Her tailoring, choices of materials and use of color has attracted people outside the world of fashion as well as people working at influential platforms like Vogue and High Snobiety. When Hedi Slimane took over as creative director at the french fashion house, his radical changes to the brand DNA caused protest and shortly after, instagram accounts dedicated to Philo’s work named Old Céline were created. Many mourned her departure, but after five years of waiting, the cult leader has returned. When the news that Philo would create her own eponymous label under the LVMH umbrella struck, speculation about what it would look like quickly followed. When asked, most Philo fans wished for her to create something that resembled “Old Céline”. Due to the fact that her strongest reference point has always been herself and her customer, it was easy to assume that she would do the same now and just like when she became creative director at Céline her aesthetic seems to be in a zeitgeist with trends like quiet luxury.

The oversized leather jackets, draped silk tops, big fur coats, loosely fitted pants, big turtlenecks and cat eye sunglasses are all things quintessentially Phoebe Philo for Céline which she brought back with her own label. She even brought back her old muse, Ukrainian Canadian model Daria Werbowy who has worked with Philo numerous times before. 

I particularly enjoy the look with the long black coat, white shirt and feather pants, because of its use of texture and color. The look consists of three different textures, because of the three different materials which creates a depth to it. The feather pants are an off white color which also creates a nice contrast compared to the crispness of the white shirt.

The leather pieces also stand out to me, due to their impeccable tailoring which creates both a dramatic shape and a softness to the rigid material.

To specifically point out what makes her own label different from her collections for Céline might be tough, which is something that can be criticised. However, Philo did reference previous designer’s work at Céline during her time there and the biggest difference I would say is that she is more liberated from opinions about sales figures now compared to at Céline. Her new label is under the LVMH conglomerate, which means that she obviously has to please the people in charge of the business aspect, but Céline was a well established fashion house when she joined which meant that products closely associated with the brand had to be part of the collections whether Philo wanted it or not, because it did good numbers on the market. For example, the infamous luggage tote which Philo introduced was a massive hit throughout the 2010’s and if Philo would have never left Céline, I’m quite sure that the people above her at LVMH would have pushed for the bag to continue to be part of her collections, because it did good numbers on the market.

However, I think it’s safe to say that the financial department at LVMH is content with the first drop of Phoebe Philo’s own line. The coats were all above 3000 euros if not “Price upon request”, the dresses all above 1600 and all shoes above 800. It’s not uncommon for luxury brands to price their products in this range, but to do so with the first drop of one’s eponymous line is bold. The demand for Phoebe Philo does seem to be rather big though, because many of the products sold out within hours.

Phoebe Philo is an enigma. She manages to stay influential, interesting and revolutionary in her own sense by doing nothing but creating pieces that reflect her own vision of style. That is also her strength, her eye for what women want to wear on a daily basis in a practical aspect, yet adding details that make the ordinary interesting. It’s a style and an aesthetic that everytime she releases something from her creative mind, proves itself to be in high demand.

Sources:

https://sverigesradio.se/avsnitt/vem-ar-egentligen-phoebe-philo-och-varfor-har-hon-sa-hangivna-fans

https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows