2024 JANUARY ISSUE
INTRODUCING
FASHION BRAND
Written by Andrew Sia
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From the Desk of the Publisher
Chloé is a brand more popular among the youngsters. Its founder, Gaby Aghion, an Egyptian-born Parisian whose vision for the brand was a “luxury prêt-à-porter.”
Chloé is now in the stable of Richemont and has 218 stores across the world. It is known for its ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, fragrances, eyewear, children’s wear and jewelry.
We hope that you will be able to see the show: “Mood of the Moment: Gaby Aghion and the house of Chloé“. It is showing at the Jewish Museum at 1109 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10128 until February 28, 2024.
Chloé was founded in 1952 by Gaby Aghion, an Egyptian-born Parisian who started her casual fashion brand through her luxury ready-to-wear collections. Born as Gabrielle Hanoka, in Alexandra, Egypt on March 6, 1921 in a well-to-do upper-class Egyptian Jews family. The family spoke fluently French and admired French culture. In 1945, she moved to Paris with her husband, Raymond Aghion and built up their nest in the city’s Left Bank.
In 1952, Gaby Aghion, together with her business partner Jacques Lenoir, founded Chloé in Paris. It was a change to haute couture and was the first to bring the concept of luxury ready-to-wear to the fashion scene. The collection was in high-quality and stylish clothing more accessible to a broader audience. Chloé became known for its romantic and bohemian designs and gained its popularity in the 1960s and 1970s.
Although Gaby Aghion was not as widely recognized as some fashion designers, her innovative approach to ready-to-wear and the success of Chloé as a well-received brand has left a lasting legacy in the fashion scene. Gaby Aghion passed away on September 27, 2014, at the age of 94.
In 1966, Karl Lagerfeld joined the house and worked closely with her until 1983. It was in 1987, Gaby Aghion sold the brand to the Richemont Group. At the time Martine Sitbon was the creative director. Karl Lagerfeld returned in 1992 and stayed until 1997. Designers like Stella McCartney, Phoebe Philo and Clare Waight Keller also joined at one time. The picture was showing Karl Lagerfeld working with the model.
Seventy years today, Chloé is still belonging to one of the leading French fashion houses – Maisons of Richemont, continues from its roots of sophisticated forward-looking yet timeless style with plenty of femininity.
What is being quoted about Chloé by the Richemont Group is, “Boundless femininity and boyish elegance exist in perfect harmony in the Chloé universe, where tradition is more important than trend, and where sustainable fashion takes center stage. The French luxury fashion Maison is renowned for its aspiration to create beautiful products with meaningful impact for people and for the planet.”
Chloé is led by Chemena Kamali, Creative Director of Chloé. She made the following quote:
“I am extremely honored to be taking on this role and to be building on the version that Gaby Aghion and Karl Lagerfeld defined early in the Maison’s history. My heart has always been Chloé’s.”
Within the Richemont Maisons, there are more known brands. such as: Van Cleef & Arpels, A. Lange & Söhne, Jaeger-Le-Coultre, Piaget, Dunhill, Montblanc, Net-A-Porter, just to name a few. Total there are 24 brands to our knowledge.
We would like to mention about an exhibition honoring Gaby Aghion which has opened in the Jewish Museum from October 13, 2023 to February 18, 2024. It is known as “Mood of the Moment: Gaby Aghion and the house of Chloé”. It is the first time for the museum to honor the visionary Jewish entrepreneur and her legacy as the founder of the French fashion house.
Courtesy of: Chloé collections in 1956 from Video of SLIMI MAGAZINE