Fashion house Chloé appoints Chemena Kamali as creative director

Chemena Kamali has been appointed as French fashion house Chloé’s new creative director, following the final collection of Gabriela Hearst at Paris Fashion Week.

Ten days after Gabriela Hearst debuted her final collection for Chloé during Paris Fashion Week, the French fashion house announced the selection of Chemena Kamali as her replacement.

The hiring news had been anticipated for a while. There were rumors circulating that Ms. Kamali was already managing a parallel studio at Chloé in anticipation of taking over the position of creative director when Ms. Hearst announced her retirement in July. It also comes at a time when many in the sector are urgently asking why there are so few top-tier luxury firms with female CEOs.

The new position is a kind of homecoming for Ms. Kamali. She started her career at Chloé as a member of Phoebe Philo's design team after graduating from Central St. Martins in London, and she later went back to the company in 2013 to work for Clare Waight Keller. She has also served as Saint Laurent's women's design director, and most recently, she served as a consultant for the modern clothing brand Frame.

Just a few days prior to Ms. Kamali's announcement, another prestigious fashion brand, Alexander McQueen, chose Seán McGirr to take Sarah Burton's place. Although women do lead the design teams at Chanel and Dior, two titans of the industry, attention will be focused on Ms. Kamali when she makes her debut at Chloé with a pre-collection in January and a ready-to-wear catwalk show in February in Paris.