Looking for Chloé

Post-screening discussion with producer Sophie Jeaneau and Dr. Valerie Steele, director of The Museum at FIT

A documentary portrait of the Jewish Egyptian designer Gaby Aghion (1921–2014), founder of the French fashion house Chloé. With clients such as Brigitte Bardot, Jackie Kennedy, and Maria Callas, transformed the clothing industry with clothes that went against the concept of haute couture to give women lighter, more wearable wardrobes. This empowering, revolutionary figure is the subject of this colorful, immersive documentary by French director Isabelle Cottenceau and producer Sophie Jeaneau, which uses previously unseen archival footage and images, as well as a recreated interview with Aghion herself, to paint a picture of an extraordinary woman and period in history for the fashion world. The film is a worthy tribute to Aghion, also a committed political figure and intellectual, who is believed to have invented the very concept of prêt-à-porter.