The 10 best designs of Phoebe Philo's career From leather t-shirts to furry heels

It's official: Phoebe Philo has officially announced her return to the world of fashion and is set to present the brand bearing her name in September 2023. On February 9, 2023, with a simple black statement posted on Instagram, Philo revealed that the new brand will be available for online registration as early as July, and that she can't wait (said not without a touch of irony, we might add) to "stay in touch" until then. For those unfamiliar with the iconic designer, the incredibly cool Phoebe Philo was the former creative director of Céline from 2008 for ten years, until 2018. She revolutionized the concept of quiet luxury, upending the idea that logos were always and necessarily required: shunning maximalism in favor of clean lines and muted tones, she wanted to create designs that were relevant to the modern woman. In the words of Vogue, «she had an extraordinary ability to synthesize the aspirational and the everyday and, in the process, defined the modern look of a generation». Even if you don't know Philo's name, you are certainly aware of her influence as the genius behind the greatest phenomenon ever to grace modern fashion.

In anticipation of the designer's highly awaited return, nss magazine has looked back at the 10 most iconic designs of her career, from Chloé to Céline.

1. The Paddington Bag for Chloé SS05

One of Philo's most celebrated early designs, the Paddington bag amassed an enormous cult following upon its release, becoming the biggest "it" bag of its time. Nineteen years after its debut, the Paddington remains one of the most recognizable pieces in handbag history, thanks to its heavy logo padlock on the top handle. The bag proved so popular that all 8,000 units produced for the SS05 collection had sold out before they even reached stores, as Vogue famously reported.

2. The Fur Shoes for Céline SS13

Although her approach to design is always very serious, Philo's work also includes extreme and delightfully eccentric pieces. Case in point: high heels covered in red fur and Birkenstock-style sandals.

3. The Leather T-Shirts for Céline SS10

The piece that would define Philo's style at Céline above all others is the leather t-shirt from the SS10 collection, which eschewed any form of playfulness in favor of a minimalist austerity.

4. The Scarf Shirt for Céline SS11

For the SS11 collection, Céline sent a paisley-print silk blouse down the runway. That same year, Kanye West chose to wear a tunic from the same collection during a performance at Coachella: it was a groundbreaking moment precisely because the top came from a womenswear collection in the first place. Today, thousands of fast fashion imitations are still in production.

5. The Glove Shoes for Céline SS15

Gloves for your feet? In 2015, Philo created a shoe with thin leather and a stretch upper, which featured in every look on her SS15 runway — in gold, white, and brown, and at varying heights. The following season, it was everywhere, hitting the streets of New York, London, Milan, and Paris.

6. The Yves Klein-Inspired Dress for Céline SS17

This dress was made expressly for all the Philophiles and art connoisseurs out there. For her SS17 collection, Phoebe Philo drew inspiration from the late French artist Yves Klein. The blue that served as the artist's trademark, along with the forms from one of his famous paintings, Anthropométries de l'époque bleue (Ant 82), created in 1960, were incorporated into the garments.

7. Practically All of Her Bags

Whether at Céline or Chloé, one of Phoebe Philo's greatest skills is designing memorable bags capable of generating astronomical sales. Beyond celebrated styles such as the Luggage and the Phantom, the bags from her collections are always small (or large) masterpieces of deconstruction, material research, and pure, artistic design.

8. The Slip Dresses for Céline FW15

While she was certainly not the first to send a slip dress down the runway, Philo is undoubtedly the creative who took the garment out of the realm of sleepwear and brought it into everyday dressing. In 2015, no one expected the slip dress to truly become a trend — but it did.

9. The Toe Shoes for Céline SS13

Philo had a talent for unique and sexy shoe designs. For SS13, Phoebe created "anatomical" trompe-l'oeil shoes complete with painted toenails, which were a huge hit among the fashion bloggers of the era and fashion lovers of all time.

10. Wooden Wedges for Céline SS10

Beyond her celebrated it-bags, Philo also created some extraordinary shoes — starting with the revival of a great style from the past, sparking the wooden wedge trend. Vogue's Sarah Mower declared that «the genius of the wedge sandal that makes every single outfit work» was responsible for the popularity of the SS10 collection that the British designer created for Céline.