Phoebe Philo finally talks about her return to fashion

The last time Phoebe Philo, nicknamed “the Chanel of her generation”, gave an official interview was ten years ago. The designer, whose work offered women a respite from the limits of the male gaze, was never very interested in explaining herself.

"I say it essential of what I feel, and most of what is worth saying, through what I do,” she recently offered. We were sitting in a white, empty room of what would be its new headquarters in Ladbroke Grove in London, far from the trendy East End and the luxury stores of Bond Street. The office, still under construction, contained no personal items, not even a marketing photo on the wall.< /p>

Her black nylon bomber jacket, rounded at the shoulders and cropped above. The waist resembled a small turtle shell into which she could withdraw and emerge at will. Under the bomber jacket, she wore gray pinstriped pants and a matching oversized shirt. Her brown hair was pulled back into a casual ponytail and she wore no makeup. She is as disinterested in artifice as she is in oversharing.

When Ms. Philo speaks, she does so in elliptical sentences, using questions as an opening to d 'other questions.

Although she became famous for transforming Chloé and Céline, she left the industry almost seven years ago and has all but disappeared , transformed into myth virtually overnight — the fashion unicorn whose work answered questions you didn't even realize.

ImagePhoebe Philo's second release continues to highlight leather outerwear, like in this low-rise leather jacket, shown with oversized berry-colored wool pants.Credit...via Phoebe Philo