} }

Mood of the moment: Gaby Aghion and the house of Chloé

October 13, 2023 - February 18, 2024

Featured Videos

The first museum exhibition honoring the visionary Jewish entrepreneur Gaby Aghion (1921-2014) and her legacy as the founder of the French fashion house Chloé.

Gaby Aghion in the desert near Alexandria, Egypt, photographed by Raymond Aghion, ca. 1940–45. Courtesy Philippe Aghion and Chloé Archive, Paris.

Mood of the moment: Gaby Aghion and the house of Chloé casts a new light on the label’s 70-year history with nearly 150 garments as well as never-before-exhibited sketches and documents from the Chloé Archive. Highlighting Aghion’s vision of effortless, luxurious fashion, and the work of iconic designers who began their careers with the brand, including Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney, and Phoebe Philo, the exhibition showcases Aghion as a leader whose work altered the course of the global fashion industry in liberating women's bodies from the restrictive attitudes and styles of the time, as well as pioneering the emergence of luxury ready-to-wear. By capturing the mood of the moment, Aghion founded a fashion brand characterized by an easy elegance.

The exhibition will explore the ways in which each subsequent creative director after Aghion uniquely interpreted the Chloé ethos and echoed the needs of their time, from the development of ready-to-wear to embracing sustainable practices in fashion. This historical overview includes designs by Karl Lagerfeld (first hired by Aghion in 1964), Martine Sitbon, Stella McCartney, Phoebe Philo, Hannah MacGibbon, Clare Waight Keller, Natacha Ramsay-Levi, and Gabriela Hearst.

Mood of the moment: Gaby Aghion and the house of Chloé is organized by the Jewish Museum: Claudia Gould, Director Emerita and Exhibition Project Director; Choghakate Kazarian, Guest Curator; and Kristina Parsons, Leon Levy Assistant Curator. Exhibition design is by Elliott Barnes.

Support for the exhibition Mood of the moment: Gaby Aghion and the house of Chloé is provided by the Wilf Family Foundations, the Arnhold Family, the Peter Jay Sharp Exhibition Fund, an Anonymous donor, Wendy Fisher and the Kirsh Foundation in honor of Claudia Gould, the Goldie and David Blanksteen Foundation, the Estate of Gaby and Curtis Hereld, the Rita J. and Stanley H. Kaplan Family Foundation, Inc., Liz Lange and David Shapiro, The Feshbach Family, the Liane Ginsberg Family Fund, Michèle Gerber Klein, Ann and Mel Schaffer, John Simoudis and Jerry Rose, the Alfred J. Grunebaum & Ruth Grunebaum Sondheimer Memorial Fund, and other generous donors. Additional support is provided by CHLOÉ.

The publication has been supported by CHLOÉ and the Jewish Museum.

Both the publication and the exhibition feature garments from the CHLOÉ Archive collection.

Related Links

Download Kids Sketchbook