>> Hannah MacGibbon has received mixed reviews for her past Chloe collections — even drawing inspiration from her own closet for her predominantly earth-toned pieces — but she has at least one fan in Chloe Sevigny, who met MacGibbon back when she was working for Phoebe Philo, and has been spotted frequently in a scalloped Chloe blazer: "I am so glad Hannah is back. I think Chloé was missing a feminine touch, and with my body it's hard to do the tomboy thing. I feel more comfortable dressing like a woman."  Ironically, pictures from Hannah's Cruise 2010 collection for Chloe and Phoebe's collection for Celine showed up on the same day; the former continues along the same lines as her work in the past, riding the masculine-feminine line with a little shock of poppy red.

>> After Hannah MacGibbon's first Chloe collection, critics seemed ready to give her a bit more time to settle in at Chloe, as if they wanted her to succeed in the brand.  And although she sent out a similarly pegged pants and muted colors in her Lauren Hutton-esque Fall 2009 collection, she's still getting encouragement — WWD noted that while MacGibbon is "still finding her way at Chloe," the collection "showed progress."  Suzy Menkes was even more laudatory, hailing MacGibbon's coats as "some of the best outerwear in Paris," and writing that the designer made "a strong show that looked like she was taking the brand forward."  Now, if she could just harness some of the excitement that surrounded the brand under other regimes . . .
*image: source

>> When Phoebe Philo left Chloe in 2006, her assistant Hannah MacGibbon was offered the top job, but turned it down to spend more time with her young family — so Paolo Melim Andersson took the reins instead.  Fast forward to the Spring 2009 season — MacGibbon just presented her first collection for Chloe Saturday, full of the muted colors, and is expected to steer the brand back to its roots in Andersson's aftermath.

Can she do it?  The critics seem reticent to make sweeping judgments just yet, citing a need for MacGibbon to settle in.  So says Suzy Menkes: "What may have been amusing in an earlier girly era looks indulgent in the current crisis. But Chloé can be developed as a brand . . . as MacGibbon settles into her new groove."  And more of the same from WWD: "The collection lacked was a little finesse, which MacGibbon should find once she settles in."  Style.com rounds out the encouraging troika: "The designer must be given time to realign the brand identity amid our new set of economics, something Philo and she never had to worry about when they arrived at the house as twentysomethings." Time will tell whether she'll stay or go . . .