After three years with French fashion house Chloé, Gabriela Hearst is stepping down from her role as creative director.
According to reports, the Uruguayan designer hopes to focus on her eponymous label, as well as other ongoing projects.
Having landed the coveted role from Natacha Ramsay-Levi in 2020, who helmed the brand for three years herself, Hearst’s first collection for the Maison debuted in March 2021 with a stunning Fall collection.
A final farewell is slated for the spring/summer 2024 collection at Paris Fashion Week in September.
Bringing her effortless elegance and bohemian edge to the 70-year-old brand, Hearst has always designed for the modern woman.
And under Hearst’s leadership, Chloé became a leading luxury brand in the sustainability arena. In 2021, it became the first luxury fashion label to achieve the Corp B Certification—an achievement handed only to those who practice positive social and environmental impact to the highest degree. The work certainly resonated with consumers, too, as Hearst and Chloé CEO Riccardo Bellini reported in February that revenue for the house had risen 60 per cent.
Having long been an advocate for better environmental practices in fashion, the designer has made some serious strides towards instigating change in her career. In 2018, she staged the first carbon-neutral fashion show during New York Fashion Week, with 25 per cent of her collections crafted from deadstock material. “I always tell my clients, ‘Do not buy a lot, buy what you need, what you want, what you want to pass down,’ she writes on her site.
Going out on a high note, Chloé has also announced a joint project with Angelina Jolie‘s newest fashion venture Atelier Jolie for an exclusive ready-to-wear collection. Co-designed by Hearst and Jolie, the collaboration will uphold both brands’ commitment to reinforcing responsible and ethical practices in the design and manufacturing processes.
Currently, there is no known succession plan, but with many brand heads stepping down lately, notable shifts are set to take the fashion industry with many houses particularly looking to attract new markets.
