Gaby Aghion and Jacques Lenoir founded their design house in Paris in 1952, focusing on high fashion ready-to-wear clothing. The house's name captures its modern image - it means "young, green shoot" in French.
They debuted their first collections in 1956. Chloe became internationally famous in the early '70s due to the collections designed by Karl Lagerfeld, who was their head designer from 1966 to 1983.
When Lagerfeld left in 1983, he was replaced by Guy Paulin, who had been designing for Max Mara. After Paulin left, Martine Sitbon became the new head designer, and Karl Lagerfeld replaced her in 1992.
When Lagerfeld left in 1997, Stella McCartney, daughter of Beatle Paul McCartney, became Chloe's head designer. McCartney's views on animal rights caused the house to not work with fur or leather during her tenure.
McCartney left in 2001 to start her own label, naming her protege Phoebe Philo as her successor. Philo was responsible for the smash hit Paddington and Silverado purses, each of which became a fashion season's "It bag".
Philo stepped down in 2006, and Paulo Andersson, formerly of Marni, became the creative director of the house.