Style bible

Chloé’s new vision for the modern woman

The latest news from the fashion world

After Natacha Ramsay-levi showed her debut collection for Chloé in Paris last September, she would have been forgiven for spending the rest of the day decompressing. Instead, she went from her show to the front row of Paco Rabanne, looking every inch the new Chloé girl in a horse-stamped velvet suit – one of spring/summer’s most recognisable designs. ‘I wear it almost every day,’ she says some five months on as the look lands in Selfridges.

At a time when woman power feels like it’s at a tipping point, Ramsay-levi’s (below) approach to redefining a fashion house known for its femininity and flou (flow, in Fashionese) feels particularly sensitive. ‘I want to dress the woman of today, not the ones of the future. Getting dressed is the beginning of one’s conversation with the world,’ she says. ‘You have to make it personal.’

She has veered away from slogans and statements and looked instead towards ‘cultural feminism’: ‘I believe in a “female nature” that commands innate differences between women and men. I infused my first collection with totem jewellery, such as amulets discovered in the sand – moon, breast, hands – a fusion of the forces of nature, symbols of fertility, goddesses. These amulets are reminiscent of ancient civilisations in which women had incredible value.’

For Chloé’s new pop-up boutique in Selfridges, Ramsay-levi – a protégée of Louis Vuitton’s Nicolas Ghesquière – has created a space where works by French artist Marion Verboom mingle with clothes and accessories. Along with that suit, there are laser-cut cotton blouses, fluted minidresses and snakeprint tops. Then there are the chunky cowboy boots, talismanic jewellery and new takes on the bestselling Drew bag – now souped up with fresh textures and chains of interlocked rings (right). Think of it as the new power-dressing uniform. From £270, Selfridges, London W1, and selfridges.com. BH