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Today, Karl Lagerfeld is a household name. (His black and white silhouette is almost as recognizable as a quilted Chanel bag.) However, back in April 1972, that was not the case. Lagerfeld joined maison founder Gaby Aghion at Chloé in 1964, and designed under the label, as well as for Fendi (and the occasional theatrical production) well into the ’70s.

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From 1975 onward, Lagerfeld was sole designer of Chloé. Here he is in 1979, on the phone with bolts of fabric awaiting his review. (Notably, he styled his hair in the late ’70s as he still does today.) Lagerfeld would go on to debut his first collection for Chanel in 1983, a label that would make him, and the dusty house, famous.

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In 1987, Martine Sitbon joined Chloé, and over the course of five years continued to promote the house’s sweet femininity. She also introduced influences such as menswear and cabaret, while at the same time designing for her namesake brand. As the first female designer of the French house since Aghion herself, Sitbon ushered in a new era, casting the biggest models of the day—Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Claudia Schiffer—in her runway shows. Sitbon would go on to launch the well-loved Rue de Mail in 2006. In 2012, she was named a Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite.