In the cacophony of shows that are competing for attention this month, there’s one major designer—a heroine to many women—who has deliberately fallen silent. Phoebe Philo’s complete withdrawal from speaking about her work at Céline is one of those things that’s capable of cleaving a critic’s brain in two.
On the one hand, it’s frustrating. She can’t be grilled on her inspirations. Nobody can ask her why she liked this color or that, what she thinks about politics and the state of the world vis-à-vis feminism—all the questions a designer is routinely bombarded with backstage. Ms. Philo has absolutely no comment on why she felt she liked floor-length kilts—there are six in the Pre-Fall collection that’s being delivered to stores now. We don’t know how she came up with the idea of putting fluted, high-waisted dresses over flared trousers, or fluid midis over narrow pants. Why the chevron patterns? No clue.
And on the other? There’s simultaneous admiration for a designer who resists being interpreted for anything other than her clothes and accessories. It’s brave and risky to go naked into the retail fray without the gloss of a single quote, profile, social media campaign, or the provision of a single insta-opportunity—in radical contrast to the communications infrastructures that exist to pump out publicity at equivalent houses. These clothes were viewed earlier in the year on racks at Céline’s headquarters at the Rue Vivienne in Paris. The designer wasn’t present. The only conclusion to draw is that she would rather put her work in front of customers to critique in changing rooms and at checkout counters. Over to you, then. They’re out there now.
