Philophiles Rejoice! Phoebe Philo Is Back, Finally
That Phoebe Philo-shaped hole in your soul is going to be filled very soon after the beloved CELINE designer finally confirmed a date of October 30, 2023, for the launch of her own high-anticipated luxury label.
Almost two years after announcing she’d be returning to the world of fashion in 2021, Philo launched an Instagram account to confirm her new project in early 2023, though she's been teasing the new eponymous line since early 2020.
Philo's early 2023 IG post confirmed that the Phoebe Philo brand would "open for registration in July" before its inaugural collection launched towards the end of 2023 (a date that's now been confirmed as October 30).
True to her word, registration on PhoebePhilo.com went live on July 27.
Best known as the Stan Smith-wearing creative director of Chloé from 2001 to 2006 and CELINE from 2008 to 2018 — back when the brand was known as Céline — Phoebe Philo previously declared that her intentions were to return to fashion with her own label back in 2021, but kept her fans sweating by maintaining a relatively low-profile since.
Philo's sudden departure from Céline and the fashion industry at large in 2018 was prompted by a desire to focus on family.
Thus, Philo has presumably spent the intervening years since her departure sequestered in a small French villa with her young children and partner. Sounds pretty nice, no?
Phoebe Philo's name has become a venerated symbol of minimalist excellence in the years since her disappearance, as fans and admirers boosted the visibility of what they called "old Céline" through a booming secondhand market.
With a lack of Philo in their lives, fans have since turned to successors like Peter Do and former Bottega Veneta creative director Daniel Lee to fill the void.
Though Hedi Slimane's work at the fashion house where Philo made her name has proven comparably more profitable, Philo obsessives — often called Philophiles — contend that Slimane's CELINE can't hold a candle to Philo's Céline (CELINE fans obviously feel otherwise).
Anyways, back in 2021, Philo purported that her label would be launching in partnership with LVMH (for whom she worked for during in her time at CELINE). That being the case, Philo's label is expected to be the luxury company's first original brand since Rihanna's short-lived Fenty brand, which launched in 2019 and shuttered in 2021. Prior to that, LVMH's last "new" line was Christian Lacroix's eponymous brand, founded in 1987.
This article was first published on February 9, 2023, and updated on October 3, 2023
