Philo is at Celine, another high-profile job, and she canceled a runway show this year because she is pregnant with her third child. I was surprised how many headlines she made with that decision.

There’s maybe a precedent, but I’ve never heard of it happening before. Phoebe has a very different position on these things. She took four years off after she left Chloe and was pursued by different companies but lay low and focused on her family. Stella is a very work-oriented person. I can’t imagine Stella stopping like that. She would find a way to juggle it and do it.

In contrast, Ms. Philo is not quite ready to generalize. “I wouldn’t want to even try to begin to describe our customer, as I think she likes a certain amount of anonymity,” she said. “I try to offer clothes that allow that. I myself do not like being defined so readily, so I imagine that she is similar?

In the wonderful world of ego and talent that is fashion, a very unusual thing happened at the Paris runway for Chloé in March. Phoebe Philo, the brand’s 31-year-old creative director, took a front-row seat to watch the show and let her key team of five designers take the bow and the applause.

Philo gave birth last December to her first born, Maya, and had been on maternity leave. She entrusted her team to design the Autumn/Winter 2005 collection, which was bursting with the label’s hot sellers: billowing bodice-front dresses, neat little jackets and military inspired coats. It was an act that warmed the audience’s hearts - designers generally keep their crew in the back room.

‘I did not feel like bullshitting, to be honest. It was not my work and I was not going to walk out at the end. I wanted to do it, it felt right, and part of that was me saying it is OK to be a mum and take time off. It’s normal.’ Philo throws back her head and laughs at this revelation. Fashion people tend to be workaholics - ‘normality’ is rare.