Mood of the Moment: Gaby Aghion and Chloe

Gaby Aghion, the founder of Chloé, created a brand of luxury ready-to-wear clothing that combined high-end materials and savoir-faire with light shapes for active women. This book celebrates her daring entrepreneurship and legacy through the acclaimed designers who embodied and reinterpreted her original inspiration. Seventy years of archival clothing from Chloé designers are reproduced, along with sketches, advertisements, and photographs.

Format: Hardback
Length: 256 pages
Publication date: 22 August 2023
Publisher: Yale University Press

As envisioned by the company's founder, Gaby Aghion (1921–2014), the elegant, romantic, and glamorous designs of Chloé have captivated the energy and aspirations of generations of women since Aghion designed her first collection in 1952. This lavishly illustrated book places Chloé and Aghion within the cultural context and crystallizes a significant transition in the postwar Parisian fashion industry, from haute couture to prêt-à-porter. Aghion defined Chloé as a brand of luxury ready-to-wear clothing that combines high-end materials and savoir-faire with light shapes for active women. Aghion, an Egyptian Jew living in Paris, brought a fresh, outsider perspective to French fashion.

Seventy years of archival clothing from Chloé designers are reproduced here, many for the first time, along with sketches, advertisements, and photographs. Essays shed light on Aghion's life, the company's approach to fashion, and the ways in which it fostered young talents. The book celebrates Aghion's daring entrepreneurship and her legacy through the acclaimed designers who embodied and reinterpreted her original inspiration. Paulo Melim Andersson, Gabriela Hearst, Clare Waight Keller, Karl Lagerfeld, Hanna MacGibbon, Stella McCartney, Peter OBrien, Phoebe Philo, Natacha Ramsay-Levi, and Martine Sitbon offer recollections of their experiences working at the fashion house.

Published in association with the Jewish Museum, New York Exhibition Schedule: Jewish Museum, New York (October 13, 2023–February 18, 2024)

Weight: 1686g
Dimension: 238 x 314 x 25 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780300271188