UC G TIN R T S N O C E D
CHLOÉ
REVISITING ERAS PAST IS A SKILL CHLOé HAS MASTERED – THIS SEASON, LOOKING TO THE 90S, THE 70S, AND THE 70S VIA THE 90S. CLEVER, REFRESHING AND A TRIUMPH FOR CLARE WAIGHT KELLER C hloé’s Clare Waight Keller lived the 90s. The sticky warehouse raves, the festival-chic resurgence, lo-fi grunge, minimalism, Spice Girls, Snapple… the lot. The era has been referenced relentlessly on the catwalks - especially of late - but few designers can call on its tropes in quite as precise a way as she has in Chloé’s Spring/Summer outing. Far be it that we’re tired of the 70s flavour we’re used to the brand presenting, but Waight Keller’s fresher approach this season marked a palette-cleansing departure. Notes on seats listed a host of iconic 90s names; “This season’s collection is a tribute to girls named Kate, Chloé, Cecilia, Corrine, Rosemary, Emma and Courtney, who embody the liberty and the elegance of a perfectly mastered and excessively lived simplicity.” A shout-out to Kate Moss, Chloé Sevigny, Corrine Day, Courtney Love and their ilk; beacons of the simpler, halcyon days of the 90s when less was always more.
We could stand to remember that these days; a statement perfectly pitched on the runway by Waight Keller via her clean-cut rave-girl tracksuits in school uniform maroon and navy, oversized, frayed denim and drawstring, prairie girl blouses. A touch of Chloé’s inimitable 70s inevitably remained (think tassel-finished, billowy, boho dresses, paisley prints and rainbow-fringed bags), but all with a 90s slant. After all, wasn’t a big part of the 90s harking back to the 70s? Remember wearing a lace-trimmed cami with oversized, cargo pants circa 95? We do. And so does Waight Keller.
Fashion’s job is to look back - and forward - and do both with perfect synergy to create something we’ll crave. Waight Keller has tapped into our need for a back-to-basics approach, whilst keeping the daintier elements that the Chloé customer expects and pulling on our nostalgic heart strings.
It’s a killer combo – and one of the best collections she’s done yet.