Manon Fillon-Ashida
Edited by Naomi Gupta
On October 30th, British designer Phoebe Philo unveiled her first collection as an independent brand. Within hours of the launch, much of her collection was sold out. But many wonder whether the quality and craftsmanship of these pieces back up the high price.
Phoebe Philo, who parted ways with Céline in 2017—leaving behind a legacy that included the iconic Céline Luggage bag—has since been teasing the internet about an independent label.
Her long-awaited label includes designs such as the Cabas XL, priced at €6,800, and the GIG Bag, selling for €2,600, which went viral for their prices. Many critics noticed that the bags’ prices were similar to those of high-end luxury bags— even more so than her creations for Céline.
One tweet said, “Phoebe Philo didn’t stop at ‘open your purse’; she said, ‘sell your house, rob a bank, and commit credit card fraud!’”
Charles Gross, a famous TikTok influencer, argued that Philo’s prices might be justifiable under a major high-end luxury brand like Céline, but are questionable for an independent label where quality and service policies are unknown.
Philo’s criticism extends beyond pricing: X users recalled a 2013 Evening Standard interview where supermodel Iman accused Phoebe Philo of refusing to cast Black models. In the interview, Iman boycotts Céline because Phoebe, at that time, never casted black models and said on set “I’m going to be forced to use black models” – insinuating that she wants to have the option not to, but the industry does not allow her to.
In my opinion, the collection’s items are giving Céline 2.0 or The Row, but overpriced. It’s nothing revolutionary; we will definitely see dupes of most of these items at Zara in two weeks. The only item that caught my eye was the Jodphur boot 100 (for €1400), which I found has a unique shape and twist to the traditional horse riding shoe style boots.
Phoebe Philo is a fantastic designer but I also think her style is oversaturated in the fashion industry. Instead, consumers will possibly opt for more well-reputed and trustworthy brands like Yves Saint Laurent whose pieces fall within the same price range. Personally, I would never invest that much money into items from a new brand when its quality and provided aftercare (reparation,..) are unknown.
I’m excited to read people’s online reviews and see whether the leather quality of the bags and other items match their pricing. If the quality turns out to be good, I will definitely drop out of McGill and use my tuition money to buy myself a timeless piece from none other than Phoebe Philo.
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