Phoebe Philo, queen of boho, joins Celine

Phoebe Philo, the British fashion designer known as the queen of boho chic, who transformed the fortunes of the Paris fashion house Chloe when she took over from Stella McCartney as creative director, has a new job. She is to return after a break of nearly three years following the birth of her daughter Maya to take over as creative designer of Celine, the fading French fashion house.

At Chloe, she attracted stars such as Sofia Coppola, Mischa Barton and Milla Jovovich to wear her clothes. Many of the fashions that have descended from the catwalk to the High Street in recent years - the revival of the baby doll dress, the Paddington handbags with huge padlocks and slim-shouldered Victorian military jackets - have had something to do with 34-year-old Philo (pictured), British designer of the year in 2004. When she launched a collection of alpaca ponchos at over £1,000 each, they sold out in half a day.

Philo graduated from Central Saint Martins and was snapped up in 1997 by Chloe, first as the power behind Stella McCartney's throne, then as her rival when McCartney left to set up her own label in 2001.

A trendy Londoner, Philo walked into her work at Chloe, then one of Paris's more traditional fashion houses, with a mockney accent, combat pants, long, diamante-studded nails and a gold tooth. She transformed it from a stuffy, nostalgic label that had struggled since Karl Lagerfield's departure into a hip, modern, commercial success. In return, Chloe changed Philo from a hipster into a more demure designer, typically dressed in classical black. She starts with Celine in October.