Founded by Egyptian-born Gaby Aghion in 1952, Chloe pioneered luxury ready-to-wear that was all about ease and femininity, offering an elegant haute bohemian style for the modern, liberated Parisienne. Resolutely contemporary, the house spotted and hired a young Karl Lagerfeld as early as the 1960s: he stayed for over two decades, achieving fame and recognition worldwide through his Chloe work, before Stella McCartney (and her then assistant Phoebe Philo) succeeded him straight out of fashion school.
