UPDATE: Phoebe Philo Officially Leaving Céline
After ten years at the LVMH group.
Update [December 22, 2017]: The latest news in Phoebe Philo’s tenure status at Céline confirms that she is indeed leaving the storied French house. According to WWD, Philo’s last collection for the label will debut at Paris Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2018, with succeeding collections crafted by various Céline employees until a new creative director is appointed. See below for our original article reporting the news back in October.
While it’s not the first time that speculation has suggested the departure of the brand’s Creative Director, it now seems that Phoebe Philo is poised to leave her position at LVMH. According to anonymous sources cited by Business of Fashion, it seems the rumours are true this time around, with Céline reportedly having interviewed designers over the past few months and looking to replace Philo by the end of the year.
Having joined the luxury house back in 2008 Philo was instrumental in turning around the fortunes of a then-underperforming Céline, taking the brand’s annual sales from €200 million EUR to over €700 million EUR.
While there’s no confirmation of Philo’s successor as yet, early reports suggest Stella McCartney’s former design director Natasa Cagalj or Victoria Beckham’s Ilaria Icardi could be potential candidates.
In other fashion business news, this month also saw official confirmation of Supreme’s partial sale to the Carlyle Group.
