Fashion Insiders Hail the Return of Phoebe Philo

Fashion designer Phoebe Philo attends the Richard Prince 'Continuation' Private View at the...

Fashion designer Phoebe Philo attends the Richard Prince 'Continuation' Private View at the Serpentine Gallery in this June 2008 file photo, in London, England. The much-anticipated return of Philo, whose sober, clean-lined debut ready-to-wear collection for Celine on Monday garnered thunderous applause from the crowd of fashion insiders.

(Nick Harvey/WireImage)

It was the highlight of Paris' ready-to-wear week: The much-anticipated return of designer Phoebe Philo, whose sober, clean-lined debut ready-to-wear collection for Celine on Monday garnered thunderous applause from the crowd of fashion insiders.

A British designer whose romantic creations for another Paris-based fashion house, Chloe, made her a critical darling and won her a loyal following among the women who wore her clothes, Philo left the fashion world in 2006 to spend more time with her family.

Monday's display was her first proper runway show since taking over the reins at Celine late last year.

Expectations couldn't have been higher. There was a palpable sense of nervousness in the air, a feeling that the audience of hundreds of fashion editors and buyers from top stores around the world were waiting with collectively bated breath.

And then came the clothes: Clean-lined sheath dresses and A-line skirts in mossy and tan leather, simple poplin shirts, creamy, romantic blouses and perfectly tailored wide-leg trousers in featherweight caramel wool. The clothes had little adornment beyond discreet leather finishings — and indeed they needed no sequins, beading, baubles or gimmicks to shine.

Speaking to reporters in a subterranean vault — the show was held in a former bank on the swanky Place Vendome jewelry hub — Philo said she had eased her way into the spring-summer 2010 collection.

"It's just the beginning. It felt like, just take it easy, just start easy," the affable blond said.

"It's nice to have the bubble of expectations burst. That feels good," Philo told reporters as she received congratulatory hugs and kisses. "Sometimes what people get into their head is unachievable."

Not so say her fans, from fellow designers to top fashion editors.

"Everybody is so excited. She has such a unique take on what women really want to wear," gushed Harper's Bazaar editor-in-chief Glenda Bailey in a backstage interview. "When she was at Chloe, it was all very ... soft and very girly. And I have to say that Phoebe and her customer have grown up. It was really womanly dressing, like we like to see."