French fashion house Chloé and its founder, Gaby Aghion, are set to be celebrated in a new exhibition at the Jewish Museum in New York City. Titled “Mood of the Moment: Gaby Aghion and the House of Chloé,” the exhibition will open on October 13th and will be the first major museum exhibition on Chloé and its founder to be held at the Jewish Museum.
Honoring a Fashion Icon
Gaby Aghion was a godmother of contemporary ready-to-wear fashion and a true believer in empowering and uplifting women. She was the founder of the fashion house Chloé in 1952, which today is a multibillion dollar global industry. Aghion hired a raft of talented young designers, including Karl Lagerfeld.
Aghion’s story is an inspiring one. Ms. Aghion started her own fashion line after she said her husband that she did not want to rely on his financial support. Her line featured relaxed and airy feminine clothing and was showcased at Café Flore under the brand name Chloé. She remained involved with Chloé until 1985 when it was bought by Swiss luxury group Richemont, throughout her life she attended catwalk shows runway.
The Jewish Museum’s director, Claudia Gould, said that very few people know that Aghion was Jewish or as much about her incredible life and entrepreneurship as they should. The exhibition will feature nearly 150 garments as well as sketches and documents from the Chloé archive that have not been seen before. It will also include works by the industry stars who began their careers at the brand: Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney and Phoebe Philo. The exhibition will chart the label’s 70-year history, and visitors will have the opportunity to learn more about Aghion’s life and vision.
Capturing the Zeitgeist
“In many ways, as the title of the show suggests, she was very good at capturing the zeitgeist of the moment she was living in. But she was more than that. She was a visionary, with a powerful view of women that was very different from the prevailing view at the time”, said Ms. Gould.
According to Riccardo Bellini, the CEO of Chloé, partnering with the Jewish Museum gives them the wonderful opportunity to honor and commemorate Aghion’s heritage with their continued house’s beliefs and values.
The exhibition promises to be a tribute to the fashion house that Gaby Aghion founded. The partnership with the Jewish Museum will ensure that her story reaches a wider audience.
