Phoebe Philo in Fall 2005

Phoebe Philo is back, but not to bring smooshy leather idealism again to Chloé, but as the next creative director of fellow French fashion house, Céline.

LVMH Moët Hennessy confirmed to WWD exclusively on Sept. 4th. The magazine immediately published the news, but in short, almost byte form - so here you get a detailed reaction with enough information to match…

Despite creating arguably the world’s favorite IT bag with the company, Philo left the design world completely 2 years ago to stay home with a new baby, who’s now 3 with a younger sibling of 18 months*. The deal with Céline that appealed to the new mom is that she would be allowed to stay and work in her home town of London, and not the headquarters of both houses, Paris, France. (*Source) Why the success her Paddington and other beloved purses being responsible for Chloé’s clout of today didn’t cause Phoebe to merely take temporary maternity leave, with parent company, Richemont, offering this same compromise is beyond me. Click for more (story, photos, etc.) »