Scalloped edges vs. sweater sets: Hannah MacGibbon out and Clare Waight Keller in at Chloé
It seems we can’t go a week without a changing of the guard at a major fashion label, and this morning that honour belonged to Chloé. With two consecutive tweets heard round the fashion world, the venerated French label announced that, after months of hushed murmurs, creative director Hannah MacGibbon was leaving the company.
Having hosted such talents as Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney and Phoebe Philo, the label has had a tough time keeping a lockdown on its talent living up to the expectations they’d set. When Philo left the label in 2006, she was replaced by Paolo Melim Andersson, whose hard-edged aesthetic was a major contrast to the playful girliness the label became known for under Philo, and lasted a mere three seasons. In March of 2008, MacGibbon, who’d been with the company since 2001, was given the creative helm, only to be dismissed from her post three years later.
Clare Waight Keller, who has experience at Gucci, Ralph Lauren’s Purple Label, Calvin Klein and, most recently, Pringle of Scotland, will be taking over as creative director June 1. “I am thrilled to be joining one of the most prestigious design houses in Paris,” she said via a statement on the brand’s website. “Chloé is a brand that conveys a beautiful sense of effortless femininity and vivacious sophistication that I look forward to continuing into the next era.”
Judging by her most recent looks at Pringle, we can expect Keller help Chloé return to its status as a brand for the most laissez-faire of the cool. While we’ll certainly mourn MacGibbon’s penchant for scalloped edges and luxe ‘70s colour palettes, we hope this match is made to last.