Phoebe Philo’s LVMH-Backed Namesake Label Will Arrive Fall 2023

PHOEBE PHILO’s DEBUT NAMESAKE LABEL WILL INCLUDE READY-TO-WEAR, LEATHER GOODS, JEWELRY, EYEWEAR, AND FOOTWEAR.

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM — Phoebe Philo’s long-awaited new signature collection which will include more than 150 styles will release this September and be available at a dedicated online store initially shipping to the U.K., Europe, and the U.S.

Sources said Philo has teamed up Daria Werbowy to be a face of the brand. The designer had frequently featured the Canadian model, several times in her Celine campaigns.

In 2021, D.M. Fashion Book reported that the acclaimed designer was returning to fashion with an independent, namesake house — and with LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton as a minority investor (see it here). She has been tight-lipped on details though.

At the time, we reported that the British designer started planning a new collection and interviewing designers in 2020. According to market sources, she has had a small team working in London since late that year.

One of the most revered — and bankable — designers of her generation, Philo most recently engineered a spectacular brand rejuvenation during a 10-year tenure at Celine, one of about 75 brands controlled by LVMH. Season after season, she minted womanly, modernist clothing and distinctive handbags, accruing an intensely loyal fan base.

Back then Philo said she would create clothing and accessories “rooted in exceptional quality and design,” adding: “I am very much looking forward to being back in touch with my audience and people everywhere. To be independent, to govern and experiment on my own terms is hugely significant to me.”

Last February, Philo sparked up an official Instagram account for her signature fashion house, and the first post noted that her inaugural collection “will be revealed and available on our website, Phoebephilo.com, in September 2023.”

“We will be opening for registration in July 2023 and look forward to being back in touch then,” it added.

Given her cult following, core audience and  track record for rejuvenating a brand, Philo’s return to fashion will no doubt elicit cheers from consumers, editors and retailers.

Sources said Philo plans to cultivate relationships with the best customers from her long, acclaimed tenure at Celine, when she made that brand a byword for modernist sophistication.

It is understood the designer won’t return to the runway for at least another year, if ever, and open any stores until 2026, the sources suggested.

In December 2017, D.M. Fashion Book reported that Philo exited LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton owned – Céline after 10 years (see it here). The Fall 2018 collection, presented in March 2018 during Paris Fashion Week, was the last collection crafted by the designer.

It is unusual, though not unprecedented, for LVMH to back a new brand. Its core expertise lies in animating heritage brands like Louis Vuitton, Dior and Fendi with buzzy designers, celebrity ambassadors, retail razzmatazz and spectacular press and client events.

On May 10, 2019, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton officially confirmed a luxury label with Riri, under the Fenty banner (see it here). The start-up came up against the coronavirus crisis and LVMH and the pop star paused the luxury maison in February 2021 (see it here).

Prior to that, LVMH famously set up a couture house for Christian Lacroix in 1987, and sold it to Falic Group in 2005.

Minority stakes are not usually the norm either for the French luxury giant, though that’s the case with Jonathan Anderson’s London-based fashion house JW Anderson, for example. LVMH took a 46 percent stake in 2013 in tandem with hiring the designer as creative director of Spanish leather goods house Loewe.

Philo is a graduate from London’s Central Saint Martins. In the 10 years she was at Celine, Philo helped lift the label’s annual sales from €200 million to more than €700 million, according to analysts. (LVMH does not break out figures for Céline).

Philo studied with Stella McCartney and followed her when she took the creative director job from Karl Lagerfeld at Chloé in 1997. When McCartney left Chloé to set up her own fashion brand in a joint-venture with what was then called Gucci Group, now part of the conglomerate Kering, Philo was left out of the project and then CEO Ralph Toledano exploited the rift to place her in the top job in 2001. Philo left five years later having significantly boosted Chloé’s sales revenues. Philo succeeded in accelerating Chloé’s rejuvenation and catapulting it into the high-margin leather goods business. She became known for fashions that deftly blended masculine elements like trousers and such feminine fare as frilly blouses. During her tenure, Chloé’s look was widely emulated by fast-fashion chains and she created hit handbags like the Paddington and Silverado.

She resigned from Chloé in 2006 for personal reasons, citing a wish to spend more time with her young children.

Three years later, after lengthy discussions with LVMH about launching a namesake brand, Philo wound up at the helm of Céline, which offered an immediate platform for her designs, since the brand had boutiques in top locations around the world and factories for leather goods.

Philo debuted a more fashion-forward, minimalist aesthetic at Céline, tinged with artsy touches, and her collections exceeded all revenue expectations and won wide acclaim, despite her reticence about e-commerce and an arms-length policy with the press.

In the past, we’ve mentioned that Philo was reportedly offered Raf Simons’ former position at Dior following his departure in 2015, but the parties encountered difficulties in closing the deal when Philo insisted upon bringing her team with her to Dior (see it here). Eventually, Maria Grazia Chiuri was appointed Christian Dior‘s new artistic director, the first women to hold the position in the French house’s 70-year history (see it here).

Philo was succeeded at Celine by Hedi Slimane, who dropped the accent in the label’s name and reoriented the brand toward retro-tinged, bourgeois French chic (see it here).

Photos Credit: Courtesy of Phoebe Philo