Chloe strikes gold again with team design effort

PARIS - Phoebe Philo's ready-to-wear collection for Chloe on Saturday was a family affair in more ways than one.

The designer has been on maternity leave since giving birth in December to her first child, a daughter named Maya, and she joined other guests in the front row to cheer the in-house team that finalized the outfits in her absence.

"The design team gave me the best gift, and that was three months with my baby," Philo, recently crowned British Designer of the Year, told well-wishers backstage after an emotional reunion with her colleagues.

Adrian Appiolaza, one of the behind-the-scenes talents suddenly thrust into the limelight, was feeling elated.

"This is the most beautiful feeling about working in this house, that we work as a family team," he told Reuters.

Under her guidance, they turned out a textbook collection of flirty dresses and trim military jackets - the kind that have made Chloe a must-have label for scores of affluent young women.

Guests including actress Diane Kruger and model Milla Jovovich gathered in a tent in the Tuileries gardens, where a set draped in a white curtain with a black velvet sash echoed the label's graceful cocktail dresses.

This season, they came in white petticoat lace set off with black piping or electric blue chiffon with spaghetti straps.

Philo believes cutting a great pair of trousers is more important than making an edgy artistic statement. That translated into menswear tailoring in herringbone or pinstripes, and cropped silk jackets edged in velvet or grosgrain.

As a result, business is booming with waiting lists for cult items. Sales at Chloe rose by close to 60 per cent last year and parent company Richemont is embarking on an aggressive expansion drive, with new store openings planned across the world.

Robert Burke, senior fashion director at luxury retailer Bergdorf Goodman, said the label was flying off the shelves.

"She gets it because I think it's her and her team that are those young women, and they understand what is appealing and it's very feminine, and it's sexy, but not in an overt way," he told Reuters. "She's hit her groove right now."

- REUTERS