Yahoo Sports Gabriela Hearst to Depart Chloé: Sources
Gabriela Hearst is to exit Chloé after an eventful three-year stint during which the brand made quantum leaps as a sustainable, purpose-led company – and solid revenue gains, sources told WWD.
It is understood Hearst will show her final collection for the spring 2024 season during Paris Fashion Week this fall. The sources described the separation as amicable, with Hearst wishing to focus on her fast-growing signature brand and other projects.
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In a last hurrah for the brand, Hearst has lined up a collaboration between Chloé and actress Angelina Jolie, who recently announced her intention to launch a newfangled fashion house, as reported.
Hearst, with her formidable eco credentials and long affection for the Chloé brand, seemed like an ideal designer for the Richemont-owned house, which shifted to a purpose-driven business model shortly after the arrival in 2019 of new Chloé chief executive officer Riccardo Bellini from Maison Margiela.
The designer, who hails from Uruguay, seemed to relish the role, upping Chloé’s shoe game by designing the low-impact Nama sneaker, and introducing a host of recycled and upcycled fabrics into her ready-to-wear collections.
In October 2021, Chloé became the first European luxury maison to receive B Corp status, a major stepping stone on its long path to fully becoming a company that is purpose-driven, planet-friendly, community-based and accountable.
But it understood it was a challenge to balance the demands of two burgeoning fashion businesses based in Paris and New York.
The succession plan at Chloé could not immediately be learned, and principals at the brand could not immediately be reached for comment.
During a joint interview last February, Hearst and Bellini reported that revenues at the Paris-based house have risen 60 percent in the two years since the designer took up the creative helm, with recycled denim and linen Woody tote bags among items selling briskly — and all leaving a small environmental footprint.
Hearst arrived at Chloé with almost 20 years’ experience as an entrepreneur, starting with her first New York City fashion business Candela, a bohemian contemporary brand launched in 2004, and then her namesake luxury house in 2015, based on the principles of timelessness, quality and sustainability.
She took home the the American Womenswear Designer of the Year prize at the CFDA Fashion Awards in 2020.
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