Why are we still so obsessed with Phoebe Philo and Old Céline? The accessories and the items created by the cult designer have reached steep reselling prices

In 2017, when Phoebe Philo announced her farewell to Céline after 10 years at its helm, the hysteria was general. Her followers renamed themselves 'Philosophiles' and opened blogs on all social media platforms to express their grief (the most iconic remains the Instagram page Old Céline, a real posthumous archive of Philo’s creations), and at the same time, an increase in searches for Céline clothes on reselling platforms raised their original price up to 30%. 

In opposition to the noisy trends of the 2000s, Phoebe Philo redefined the concept of chic with her 'contemporary minimalism', in which simplicity and comfort are accompanied by clean and rigorous lines. Her collections seem to be the runaway transposition of Bauhaus architecture and her clothes were tailored for a businesswoman, yet very elegant and refined, desexualized and powerful thanks to oversized coats, masculine attitude, big and dark glasses, wide-legged trousers, flat shoes: finally there was no need to wear short or tight dresses to feel sexy. 

The contrast between her aesthetic and the one of her heir creates moreover a deep contrast. The innovative turn of the new creative director Hedi Slimane wasn't very appreciated by her fans: he chose to re-baptize the brand (the accent was removed, a more linear font was introduced and the word "Paris" is now present only on garments and packaging), as he previously did also at Saint Laurent. The use of words and logos wants to mark a new era for the fashion Maison and a new target, no longer a rigorous career woman who makes her way in society by claiming her rights, but more of a fresh French girl, rich and carefree, with a baseball cap and lots of denim. 

The success of Old Céline is the perfect combination of the wave that wants fashion girls dressed in the most archive pieces and an infinite nostalgia for the years in which those who wore Céline embodied the elegance of Joan Didion.