Richemont currently categorises Chloé’s product offerings as ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, fragrances, eyewear, jewellery, and childrenswear.3

The history of Chloé begins with Gaby Aghion, born Gabriella Hanoka in Alexandria, Egypt. Originating from a cosmopolitan family, she relocated to Paris with her husband, Raymond Aghion, in 1945.4

In the post-war era, the Parisian luxury fashion landscape was still predominantly defined by haute couture: highly formal, structured garments produced exclusively for individual clients. Aghion identified an opportunity to offer an alternative that was luxurious yet easier to wear; feminine without being restrictive; sophisticated but relaxed; beautifully crafted yet available as ready-to-wear; and modern rather than overly formal.

In 1952, she created her first collection, establishing Chloé as one of the early luxury ready-to-wear houses.5 This philosophy became central to the brand’s identity, effectively bridging the gap between traditional haute couture and modern luxury fashion at a time when the distinction between couture and ordinary ready-made clothing was far more rigid.

The house was named Chloé rather than bearing the founder’s surname. The name was associated with a friend of Gaby Aghion, who reportedly favoured it for its feminine and youthful character, feeling it suited the atmosphere she wished to cultivate.6 In French, the name is pronounced approximately “KLOH-ay”.

In 1953, Gaby Aghion entered into partnership with Jacques Lenoir. Their roles were complementary: Aghion focused on creative and artistic direction, while Lenoir managed the commercial and business operations. This structure allowed Aghion to develop the house’s identity while Lenoir built its commercial infrastructure,7 a model that proved vital to Chloé’s early success.

A notable aspect of Chloé’s early history is its association with Café de Flore, the renowned Parisian café frequented by artists, writers, and intellectuals. In 1957, Chloé presented its first fashion show for the Spring/Summer 1958 collection at this venue.8

By holding shows in lively Left Bank cafés rather than intimidating couture salons, the house communicated that Chloé was fashion for a new, younger, and more independent woman, connected to real life, culture, youth, and Parisian social life.

From its inception, Chloé developed a distinct visual language characterised by softness and movement rather than rigid tailoring. The clothes emphasised femininity without relying entirely on traditional formalwear, utilising light fabrics such as silk. The brand deliberately avoided an overly mature or conservative image, aiming for an effortless elegance that did not appear excessively constructed. Romantic details, flowing shapes, and delicate fabrics became recurring elements, forming a basic DNA that has endured through successive creative directorships.

Aghion became renowned for identifying emerging creative talent. During the 1960s, Chloé collaborated with designers including Gérard Pipart, Maxime de La Falaise, Michèle Rosier, Graziella Fontana, and Karl Lagerfeld. Official histories describe Aghion as having a particular talent for recognising and developing young designers,9 making Chloé a platform through which successive generations could reinterpret femininity rather than being permanently defined by a single visionary.

Among the designers associated with the house, Karl Lagerfeld is historically significant. He first worked with Chloé during the 1960s and returned as the house’s creative force in the early 1990s.10 Lagerfeld expanded the brand’s vocabulary beyond simple softness and romanticism, incorporating historical references, classical imagery, theatricality, sensuality, pop culture, glamorous femininity, and elaborate prints.

During his later tenure, the brand became closely associated with the supermodel era of the 1990s. His influence remains acknowledged today; creative director Chemena Kamali has specifically described her mission as building upon the vision established by Gaby Aghion and Karl Lagerfeld.11

A major turning point occurred in 1997 when Stella McCartney became creative director at the age of 25.12 McCartney shifted the tone of the house considerably, retaining its femininity but making it sexier, younger, more rebellious, more British, more contemporary, and more playful. Her work combined elements of vintage lingerie, tailoring, rock ‘n’ roll, Britpop, streetwear, and glamour.

The house describes her period as introducing a “sexier, rock ‘n’ roll attitude,”13 which was commercially significant as it attracted a younger generation of luxury consumers.

In 2001, Stella McCartney was succeeded by her close friend and former colleague Phoebe Philo.14 Philo’s tenure is considered one of the most influential in the brand’s history, emphasising understated luxury, sensuality, relaxed silhouettes, practicality, beautiful leather, and sophisticated accessories.

Crucially, Chloé became a major handbag house under her direction. In 2005, the launch of the Paddington bag created one of the defining “It bags” of the 2000s,15 instantly recognisable for its oversized padlock, substantial leather construction, and relaxed shape. This era helped establish a model followed by many modern fashion houses: a strong ready-to-wear identity paired with highly desirable handbags to create a powerful luxury brand ecosystem.

Handbags became essential to Chloé’s identity throughout the 2000s and 2010s. Key models include:

• Paddington: Introduced under Phoebe Philo in 2005, known for its large padlock and heavy-leather construction.
• Marcie: Introduced around 2010, associated with a softer, equestrian-inspired aesthetic.
• Faye: A refined bag characterised by distinctive metal ring and chain detailing.
• Nile: Known for its sculptural, bracelet-like handle.
• Woody: A casual, contemporary tote family associated with the house’s relaxed summer and Parisian aesthetic.

The current website continues to feature heritage families such as the Paddington, Marcie, and Faye alongside newer designs.16

Clare Waight Keller became creative director in 2011. She maintained the brand’s romantic identity while introducing a slightly more sophisticated and sometimes tougher interpretation of femininity. Her tenure produced important pieces including the Faye bag and emphasised the contrast between delicate femininity and utilitarian or adventurous elements.17 Waight Keller also had a significant professional connection with future creative director Chemena Kamali, who served as her Design Director after returning to Chloé in 2012.

In 2017, Chloé appointed Natacha Ramsay-Levi as creative director. Her approach offered a more modern, fashion-forward, and slightly sharper interpretation of the house codes while retaining its inherent femininity. Ramsay-Levi remained at the creative helm until 2020, with official histories noting her emphasis on Gaby Aghion’s original sense of mission and intelligence.18

Gabriela Hearst became creative director in 2020. Her tenure was particularly significant as Chloé increasingly positioned itself as a mission-driven luxury company, integrating sustainability and social impact more visibly into its strategy.19 Hearst brought a focus on responsible materials, craftsmanship, longevity, social impact, natural materials, and understated luxury, moving sustainability from a secondary topic to a central pillar of the corporate and creative identity.

In 2023, Chloé announced Chemena Kamali as its new Creative Director.12 Her appointment is notable given her extensive history with the house: she began her career at Chloé as part of Phoebe Philo’s team; returned in 2012 as Design Director for Clare Waight Keller; later became Women’s Ready-to-Wear Design Director at Saint Laurent under Anthony Vaccarello; and returned to Chloé as Creative Director in 2023.20

Her first collection was Winter 2024, presented during Paris Fashion Week in February 2024.21 Kamali represents a form of institutional memory, possessing direct experience with the eras of both Philo and Waight Keller. As of 2026, she remains Chloé’s Creative Director.22

Chloé’s design philosophy can be distilled into several core concepts:

Effortless femininity

The house typically presents femininity as soft, sensual, relaxed, and confident rather than highly formal or rigid. Richemont currently describes the identity as “effortless femininity.”23

Romanticism

Romantic dresses, flowing fabrics, delicate details, and soft silhouettes have been consistent throughout the brand’s history.

Freedom

Perhaps the most critical philosophical idea, stemming from Gaby Aghion’s desire to move away from restrictive formal fashion. The contemporary house frames this as women being free to express themselves and follow their own intuition.24

Parisian attitude

While French, Chloé’s interpretation of Paris is generally less formal than stereotypical Parisian luxury, leaning instead towards a Left Bank, artistic, youthful, cultured, and relaxed sensibility.

Youthfulness

Despite being a heritage luxury house, Chloé has historically been unusually willing to grant creative authority to young designers, preventing the brand from becoming overly conservative.

A typical Chloé aesthetic includes flowing dresses, silk blouses, lace, ruffles, soft tailoring, wide-leg trousers, feminine blazers, delicate prints, suede, leather, natural textures, relaxed handbags, gold-toned hardware, soft neutral colours, earthy shades, and romantic detailing.

However, Chloé is not simply a “boho brand.” While the bohemian association exists, particularly in certain periods, the broader identity is better understood as luxurious femininity expressed through freedom, movement, and ease.

Chloé has evolved beyond a ready-to-wear label into a comprehensive product ecosystem:

• Ready-to-wear: Core fashion collections including dresses, tops, jackets, trousers, skirts, denim, knitwear, and outerwear.
• Handbags & leather goods: One of the brand’s strongest commercial categories.
• Shoes: Including sandals, sneakers, ballet flats, boots, loafers, pumps, and espadrilles.
• Jewellery: Necklaces, earrings, rings, and bracelets.
• Eyewear: Sunglasses and optical frames.
• Fragrance: A major component of the brand’s beauty identity.
• Childrenswear: A dedicated children’s fashion offering.

All these categories are represented on the current Chloé site.25

Chloé is widely recognised outside fashion for its fragrance portfolio. The flagship Chloé fragrance is closely associated with the house’s feminine, floral, and elegant identity. Other fragrance families include Nomade, Love Story, and Atelier des Fleurs, all of which are listed on the current website.26 The fragrance business allows the brand’s aesthetic to reach consumers who may not purchase luxury ready-to-wear or handbags.

Sustainability has become increasingly integral to Chloé, a transformation accelerated during Gabriela Hearst’s tenure as the company emphasised becoming a more mission-driven business.27 Today, the house highlights sustainable materials, responsible sourcing, craftsmanship, social initiatives, community engagement, longevity, and artisanal techniques.

Richemont highlights Chloé’s use of sustainable materials and techniques such as hand-crochet as part of its savoir-faire.28 The house also operates its Women Forward sustainability and social-impact framework.

Chloé is part of Richemont, one of the world’s major luxury groups with a portfolio spanning jewellery, watches, fashion, and accessories. Having been part of the wider group since the acquisition of its former parent company, Chloé is now directly presented by Richemont as one of its maisons.29 This provides access to global luxury infrastructure while allowing the house to retain its distinctive fashion identity.

Chloé’s historical significance extends beyond individual collections. It helped legitimise luxury ready-to-wear by challenging the notion that luxury fashion had to be rigid, formal, and made-to-measure.30 Furthermore, it has served as a training ground for an extraordinary succession of creative figures, including Gaby Aghion, Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney, Phoebe Philo, Hannah MacGibbon, Clare Waight Keller, Natacha Ramsay-Levi, Gabriela Hearst, and Chemena Kamali, functioning almost as a school of modern luxury fashion.

Each generation has reinvented the interpretation of femininity: Aghion offered relaxed luxury; Lagerfeld, glamorous romanticism; McCartney, youthful sexuality; Philo, understated modern femininity; Waight Keller, romantic sophistication; Ramsay-Levi, contemporary cool; Hearst, sustainability and purpose; and Kamali, renewed emotional, youthful femininity.

The official Chloé timeline confirms these major creative transitions.31

If Chanel is associated with timeless Parisian sophistication, Dior with couture femininity, and Saint Laurent with Parisian sensuality and rebellion, then Chloé can broadly be understood as luxury femininity made effortless, romantic, and free-spirited. This thread connects the brand from Gaby Aghion in 1952 to Chemena Kamali today.

As of 2026, Chloé remains a major French luxury fashion house under Richemont, with Chemena Kamali leading creative direction and Laurent Malecaze as CEO. Richemont lists a 182-store network and product categories spanning ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, fragrances, eyewear, jewellery, and childrenswear.32

The house simultaneously looks backward and forward: Kamali draws on foundational language while the business develops modern luxury categories, sustainability initiatives, and global retail. Communications include Chloé à la Plage, and the website continues to foreground heritage products such as the Paddington alongside contemporary collections.33

Ultimately, Chloé treats femininity not as something restrictive or overly formal, but as something relaxed, sensual, emotional, and free.34

1. Chloé | Our Maisons
2. Maison Chloé: the French fashion brand history – Chloé Official Website
3. Chloé
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6. From the Paddington to the Marcie, a History of Chloé Handbags
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8. Story – Maison Chloé
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10. Chloé opens its first boutique in Australia | Media
11. Richemont announces Laurent Malecaze as new President & CEO of Chloé
12. Chloé announces the appointment of Chemena Kamali as Creative Director | Media
13. A Look Back at Chloé’s Revered Designers, From Karl Lagerfeld to Stella McCartney
14. The Best of Chloé in Vogue | Vogue
15. Chloé at 60: the story of a fashion legend | Paris fashion week autumn/winter 2012 | The Guardian
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25. Maison Chloé：历史悠久的法国时尚品牌 – Chloé 官方网站
26. Chloé – fashionabc
27. Chloé – Comité Colbert
28. Chloé – Comité Colbert
29. Client Director Europe, Paris, France | Richemont Careers
30. Merchandising Coordinator – Temp, Dubai, United Arab Emirates | Richemont Careers
31. ALTERNANCE – Assistant(e) de Direction – SEPT (H/F/X), Paris, France | Richemont Careers
32. Temporary Stylist, Palm Beach, United States of America | Richemont Careers
33. Sales Associate – Bicester (Fixed Term), Bicester, United Kingdom | Richemont Careers
34. Sales Associate – Bicester, Bicester, United Kingdom | Richemont Careers