Gaby Aghion

Gabrielle Aghion (née Hanoka; 1921 – 27 September 2014) was a French fashion designer and the founder of the French fashion house Chloé. She is said to have coined the phrase "prêt-à-porter".

Career

Born in Alexandria, Egypt, the daughter of a cigarette factory manager, she met her husband, Raymond Aghion (1921–2009), when both were seven years old in elementary school. He was born into a wealthy family of cotton exporters, but displayed early stirrings of the social consciousness that would later land him in political exile. Gaby and Raymond, both Jewish, married at the age of 19. The couple moved to Paris in 1945. In Paris the Aghions gravitated toward the Communists, becoming close to writers Louis Aragon, Paul Éluard and Tristan Tzara. Gaby launched Chloé in 1952. Raymond opened an art gallery in 1956, specializing in modern art.

According to the website of Chloé, Aghion rejected the stiff formality of 1950s fashion and created soft, feminine, body conscious clothes from fine fabrics, and called them "luxury prêt-à-porter". Unique for their time, they were beautifully made clothes available off the rack. She set up her workshop in a maid's room above her large flat. In 1953, Gaby Aghion joined forces with Jacques Lenoir – he ran the business side and she ran the creative side. The duo put on the first Chloé show in 1956 at a breakfast at the Café de Flore, the epicentre of young intellectual Parisians of the 1940s and 1950s.

Gaby

Gaby is a town and comune in the Aosta Valley region of northwestern Italy.

The Italian Sunflower Festival is held there during summer. Gaby is home to the 19th century Sanctuary of Vourry.

See also

Media related to Gaby at Wikimedia Commons

Summer 2015

"Summer 2015" is a song by L.E.J released in 2015.

Charts

References

Chloé

Chloé (French pronunciation: ​[klɔe]) is a French fashion house founded in 1952 by Gaby Aghion. Aghion later joined forces with Jacques Lenoir in 1953, formally managing the business side of the brand, allowing Aghion to purely pursue the creative growth of Chloé. Its headquarters are located in Paris, France. The house is owned by luxury brands holding company Richemont Group. Chloé has worn by many celebrities, including Marion Cotillard, Sienna Miller, Madonna, January Jones, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Cameron Diaz, Emma Stone, Clémence Poésy and Katie Holmes.

History

Gaby Aghion was born in 1921 in Alexandria, Egypt. After moving to Paris, France in 1945, she founded Chloé in 1952 with a vision of offering luxury prêt-à-porter (Ready-To-Wear), a new concept at that time. Gaby Aghion continued to run the house until 1985, when Chloé Rayyes bought-out Dunhill Holdings (now Richemont Group).

Prior to Chloé's launch, luxury fashion houses had only ever produced Haute Couture (i.e. made-to-measure) clothing. For the few who could afford it, this was fine; everyone else was left with poorly made copies, supplied by local seamstresses.

Paris Fashion Week

Paris Fashion Week is a clothing trade show held biannually in Paris, France with spring/summer and autumn/winter events held each year. Dates are determined by the French Fashion Federation. Currently, Fashion Week is held in the Carrousel du Louvre, as well as at various other venues throughout the city. In addition to ready-to-wear shows, there are men's and haute couture shows, which are held semiannually for the spring/summer and autumn/winter seasons.

The Big 4

Paris Fashion Week is part of the global "Big 4" fashion weeks, the others being London Fashion Week, Milan Fashion Week and New York Fashion Week. The schedule begins with New York, followed by London, and then Milan and ends in Paris.

Fashion Week Origins

Fashion Week comes from early fashion showings in Paris. A fashion week consists of a week of organized events of multiple designer’s collections. After parties are also noted to be a tradition. Before this organized event was recognized in New York, fashion showings were being held in Paris as early as the 1700’s. These early showings were only to clients purchasing items and were shown on mannequins. In the 1800’s, showings began to change. Charles Frederick Worth, noted for haute couture, began showing multiple pieces together and of a higher design. Jeanne Paquin is the first designer to make her showings public and Paul Poiret is the first to host parties after his events.