| Intro | British fashion designer | ||
| Is |
Fashion stylist Fashion designer |
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| From | United Kingdom | ||
| Type | Fashion | ||
| Gender | female | ||
| Birth | 1 January 1973, Paris, France | ||
| Age: | 47 years | ||
| Star sign | Capricorn | ||
| Education |
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| Awards |
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Phoebe Philo OBE (born 1 January 1973) is a British fashion designer. She was the creative director of Céline from 2008 to 2018 and creative director of Chloé from 2001 to 2006.
Early life
Philo was born in Paris to British parents working there. Her father, Richard, is a surveyor and her mother, Celia, is an art dealer and graphic artist who had a hand in creating David Bowie’s Aladdin Sane album cover. The family returned to Britain when she was two years old, and she was raised in Harrow, London. In 1987, at the age of 14, she began customizing her clothes after receiving a sewing machine as a birthday present from her parents.
She studied at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London, graduating in 1996. She graduated showing a final student collection that The Guardian would later described as having a “Latino influence and huge gold jewellery”. She quickly joined Chloé as Stella McCartney’s first assistant for ready-to-wear collection in Paris.
Career
Philo began working for Chloé in 1997 as Stella McCartney’s design assistant, succeeding her as creative director in 2001.
In 2006 Philo left Chloé. During this break from the industry, she moved back to London to be with her family and had her second child. In 2008, LVMH offered her a job as creative director and board member of the French Maison Céline, where she set up her studio for the company and continued to work in London whilst showing in Paris. She agreed, and presented her debut collection the next year to much critical acclaim.
In 2017 after 10 years of working at Céline and much speculation in the media it was announced that Philo would step down as the creative director of Céline after the Pre-Fall 2018 collection. She has not announced what her plans are for the future.
Awards
Philo was named by Time Magazine as amongst the world’s 100 most influential people in 2014.
She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to fashion.
- 2011: “International Designer of the Year” by the CFDA
- 2010: “British Designer of the Year” by the British Fashion Council
- 2005: “British Designer of the Year” by the British Fashion Council
- 2003: “Best Dressed” by January issue of Vogue
Personal life
Philo married English gallerist and art dealer Max Wigram (b. 1966) in July 2004. They live in London and have three children.