Phoebe Philo
She had the cool and the composure to offer fashion a semblance of sanity after the financial crash of 2009. That moment, when Philo (right, with model Marie Piovesan in Céline) took control of the Céline runway with a proposal for clean, rational daywear, she set a new agenda: daywear rather than cocktail dresses; tailoring, big shirts, sweaters, pants, coats. Her system, unflagging and classily consistent, attracts adoring loyalty from all who know how difficult it is to dress with a chic froideur in daily life. It’s only added to her heroine status that she keeps out of the limelight, insisting on taking maternity breaks. She was photographed in June, shortly after the birth of her third child, Arthur.
