We love when a fashion house celebrates a milestone birthday, and at Paris Fashion Week this year it was Chloe celebrating six decades of their unique French style. Designer Clare Waight Keller has presented rather safe collections for the French house in since taking over from Hannah MacGibbon last year, but she was a little more edgy with her third collection for Chloe.
In a nod to founder Gaby Aghion’s philosophical statement ‘I lived the life I wanted,’ Waight Keller’s collection was at times whimsical, and had an element of dreaminess to it. A relaxing pastel palette was the perfect birthday present to the Chloe faithful, and the designs were elegantly tailored with laser-cut edges, frills and transparent layering. Waight Keller explained how she had wanted the collection to have a feminine spirit, but still appear sharp, and she certainly achieved it with understated, dramatic aesthetic. The looks bordered on sporty luxe, but a soft and gentle sexiness permeated the collection overall, bringing it back to Chloe’s girly roots.
Ruffles adorned shoulders and necklines, and while at times the detailing may have been a little too much for one look, overall the style was well achieved and generally seemed to meet Waight Keller’s goal of being easy to wear. Volume played a big part in this collection, with one of our favourite looks demonstrating just how close some of the Chloe looks came to being too busy… but we loved it anyway.
A silk organza, knee-length dress in the palest of pinks was transparent enough to reveal a short white sheaf that rested mid-thigh, and soft pleats gave way to a delicately feminine look. Up top was where things got busier: there were ruffles across the chest and leading up to the chin, ruffles along the shoulders, and a peplum-style ruffle that sat just above the waist. Somehow the look worked though, and was true to the chic Chloe style.
Another look that we would just love to get out hands on for a dressy night out for cocktails was a silk knee-length dress that looked as though it had been spun from gold itself. Much like our pastel pink favourite, this one also featured a transparent skirt with a thigh-length underlay. But what really made the dress seem magical was the pattern of gentle golden embroidery and sequinned embellishments. And of course there were ruffles, and three distinct layers. Ultimately, it was heaven personified as a dress.
