Céline's Phoebe Philo Has Her Disciples Leonie Hampton for the International Herald Tribune Hannah Gruy wears a Celine blouse in the North London studio of Neal Tait, an artist she represents. Ms. Gruy says Phoebe Philo's work is a perfect "mix of understated elegance and confident minimalism."" They have been spotted prowling pavements from Paris to Beijing, slinging block-color tote bags from arms clad in graphic silk blouses and sharp leather sleeves. "Philophiles," as many call this new style species, are the droves of women who wear the Céline label with ardor. They have adopted the minimal or "pure" aesthetic of the brand under the creative direction of Phoebe Philo. Ms. Philo, 38, who joined the brand in 2008 after taking a two-year maternity leave, previously had had a star turn at the Parisian house Chloé, where she specialized in floaty, ruffled sundresses. Ms. Philo's Céline is both more sumptuous and starker. Because of her third pregnancy, she is forgoing a fashion show this season in favor of a presentation - another fashion first in the name of family. She designs the collection from a Georgian townhouse near her family home in London, having uprooted the brand's design studio from its traditional home in Paris, where it still shows. So who are the Philophiles? "I like the idea that at Céline we attract a very varying group of women," Ms. Philo said by e-mail while preparing for the March 4 presentation. They are all different, but with the common thread of an appreciation for clothes that suggest something new but made to last far beyond fast-trend fashion. Katie Bain, 29, show manager at the British Fashion Council, echoes Ms. Philo: "Phoebe Philo at Céline creates a collection each season that is about building a wardrobe rather than focusing on throwaway trends. I think, as a working woman (and mum), she really has that ability to resonate with what women want to wear. Céline's critical and commercial success lies not only with the customers" feelings for the clothes, but with their marketing and the public image of their designer. Ms. Philo's maternity leave resonates with Céline fans. In Milan, the editor-in-chief of Petits Luxes Magazine, Vanessa Caputo, 41, says, "Phoebe Philo has never made a bad move, including her decision to take time off at the height of her success to dedicate herself to work that to many of us women is much more important than anything else: maternity. At Céline, it didn't take long for her to seduce women with her work, for she is one of us. Agata Belcen, 28, the fashion editor at Another Magazine, agrees: "I'm seduced by the sense of it being the vision of a strong woman who has created a fashion moment, who wonderfully negotiated working from London because that's where her family is and who has decided not to do a runway show this season because of her pregnancy." Penny Martin, editor-in-chief of The Gentlewoman, put Ms. Philo on the cover of the feminist fashion magazine's inaugural issue in March 2010. "It's not just the clothes," she said. She's not put a step wrong in building up a peerless visual context: whether it's the masculine typography of Peter Miles's redrawn logotype or the stunning National Geographic-style contextual photography that she collates into print material. "Initially, what Céline was selling was "Phoebe herself and her perfect wardrobe."" Ms. Martin said. And crucial to that was that they are manufactured at such a high grade. The brand DNA, it would seem, is indeed Ms. Philo's own. "It will be whatever I make it for the time I'm there," she has said of reinventing a brand with no particular identity, a brave choice while others scramble to pin down a heritage. Hannah Gruy, 27, who works with artists at White Cube Gallery in London, had eagerly awaited Ms. Philo's return to the fashion scene in 2008. "Philo was designing for Chloé when I was in high school," Ms. Gruy said, "and I was drawn to the carefree comfort and young fun of the flared trousers and lacy tops. Now that I am working, I choose Céline because it has that mix of understated elegance and confident minimalism. The brand was founded as a children's shoemaker by Céline Vipiana in 1945 and bought by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton in 1996 for €412 million, or $550 million.