“
We are happy to have found her
,” summarizes our neighbor about the woman Chloé.
This free-spirited Parisian called for by Gaby Aghion, this avant-garde businesswoman who founded the house in 1952. She was the first to seize the potential of creative and wearable fashion for French women in his time.
And entrusted the collections to a young German, Karl Lagerfeld, who remained there for twenty years.
A number of talented designers will succeed him and, in particular, Stella McCartney, Phoebe Philo, Hannah MacGibbon who will make it, in the early 2000s, a flourishing brand, synonymous with effortless femininity, strong and independent in the head, airy and delicate in appearance.
But in recent years, Miss Chloé had lost her identity, and the attention of younger generations...
Last November, stylist Chemena Kamali appointed to the creation of Chloé, the only woman in the winter transfer window which saw the appointment of numerous male artistic directors at the head of the houses.
Not that gender is synonymous with talent, but Thursday morning, in a construction site in Faubourg-Poissonnière, the radiant girls in ruffled muslin dresses and thigh-high boots anchored to the ground (in this case the carpet), and this little boy escaping the surveillance of his father jumping into the arms of his mother who comes to say hello at the end of the parade, touches the heart.
And then, there is this music, this
Cloudbusting
by Kate Bush which reminds us of another hit by the Englishwoman,
This Woman's Work
, which Phoebe Philo chose for her unforgettable spring 2015 show at Céline.
Different styles, but a rare community of mind these days on the catwalks.
Also read: Saint Laurent, perfume of scandal?
A few days earlier, we met Chemena Kamali, 42, whose destiny was to arrive here.
“
When I was growing up in Germany, there were few fashion stores.
My parents, who opened a multi-brand store in Düsseldorf, were the first, in the 1980s, to distribute Italian and French brands like Versace, Armani, Cacharel... and Chloé.
I would accompany them to the retailer shows, sit in the brand booths while my parents chose the pieces and placed the order.
I loved fashion, but very early on I realized that I didn't want to sell clothes, I wanted to create them.
My idol, as for all young people growing up in the 1990s in Germany, was Karl Lagerfeld.
I knew his biography by heart, how he left Hamburg for Paris, how he became the first creative director of Chloé in the 1960s. So I too wanted to go to Paris.
» After “technical” training in Trieste, she obtained a prestigious scholarship from the German government to continue her studies abroad, but felt that she must first experience the reality of a house and looked for an internship. … in Paris.
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The highly anticipated first show by the German Chemena Kamali for the house founded by Gaby Aghion, and where Karl Lagerfeld officiated for a long time, reconnects with the natural elegance of Parisians that we missed so much.
photo: Carlo Scarpato / Gorunway
“
I had little hope, I told myself that no one would take someone from a German university, knowing that my country is known more for its cars and its engineering than for its creation… I was 21 years old, I I left for the day - chaperoned by my big brother!
-, my portfolio under my arm.
I only knew the address of Chloé's headquarters.
I presented myself to the receptionist who thought I was crazy, because I had no contacts, no relationships in the company.
I sat at the entrance for four hours, then an Austrian studio director gave me ten minutes.
Two weeks later, I had my first six-month internship, then a year as an assistant.
I was on the team with Phoebe, Hannah MacGibbon, Blue Farrier who taught me how to work with women, for women, with that female point of view.
I fell in love with Chloe.
»
There is a principle of reality at Chloé, which begins, for example, with the height of a heel.
A heel is very beautiful, but it should not prevent you from walking.
Chemena Kamali, artistic director of Chloé
She was offered to hire her, but she had to use her scholarship and applied for a master's degree at the largest fashion school in the world, Central Saint Martins in London.
“
I was lucky enough to have Louise Wilson as a teacher and Phoebe as a “tutor”, who was on maternity leave at the time.
It was a great experience.
Beyond the technical aspect and the history of fashion, Saint Martins helped me discover who I was, what my creative language was and taught me not to compromise, that it had to remain faithful to his vision without diluting it.
I understood that I wanted to dress women to be themselves and not to transform them.
I also realized that I had a strong penchant for late 1970s fashion!
It's not so much the clothes, but the attitude, this feeling of freedom, ease, ease and natural beauty specific to this era.
»
Diploma in hand in 2007, she started out at Alberta Ferretti in Italy for two years, “
lots of blur, embossed draping, particularly to dress VIPs on red carpets
”, and in Germany at Strenesse, the brand of Gabriele Strehle, where her mission is to “
breathe femininity
” into this rigorous wardrobe.
In 2012, she was called back to Chloé in the studio of artistic director Clare Waight Keller - “
the team was fantastic, I met Adrian Appiolaza there, who also presented his very first show this season in Milan at Moschino .
» Then Saint Laurent, with Anthony Vaccarello, where for the last seven years she has directed the design of women's ready-to-wear.
“
I enjoyed all stages of my professional life, intern, then junior, senior, chief designer, design director.
On a daily basis, I always loved being in the workshops, with the model makers.
I felt very free wherever I worked, in all these houses with such different visions and archives... And in retrospect, I feel like I prepared myself for more than twenty years to return to Chloé.
»
While the brand is struggling under the reign of Gabriela Hearst (2020-2023), the Richemont group, which owns the house, entrusts her with the mission of reviving the sleeping beauty.
“
Honestly, I wasn’t asked to do anything other than do what I knew.
You know, the group is very attached to Chloe, and they hope that we recreate that emotional connection with women.
»
Chloé fall-winter 2024-25 collection.
photo: Carlo Scarpato / Gorunway
Doutzen Kroes returns to Chloé for Chemena Kamali's first show.
photo: Carlo Scarpato / Gorunway
We came back to see the designer the day before the show.
Chemena Kamali lost her father last week, but she remains focused, she will collapse afterwards.
In his studio, the models undergo final fittings and accessorization.
Is it comfortable?
Does this bag work?
How is the length of these pants, and the inseam if you sit down?
“
There is a principle of reality at Chloé, which begins, for example, with the height of a heel.
A heel is very beautiful, but it should not prevent you from walking.
» From time to time, the designer takes a look at the mood board behind her desk where dozens of photos are pinned.
Many from Karl Lagerfeld's 1976-1979 period.
A man, therefore, but who is the first to create a dialogue between natural femininity and a strong silhouette, by mixing structured pieces and vagueness.
“
The first part of the collection is a tribute to Karl, a reinterpretation of his codes, the coats, the patent capes, the mufflers, but also the romantic side of the English embroidery, the plumetis, the lace made here in mesh for more sensuality.
» Pat Cleveland, who embodied this era, is in the front row this Thursday.
Jerry Hall lent his features to Chemena's first campaign, released in January.
“
It was so crazy to meet her, she told me that she loved those Chloé years, she lived in Karl's apartment, attended Antonio Lopez.
»
On the other part of the painting, images from the beginning of 2000, “
a period of pleasure, joy and optimism.
Backstage at the fashion shows, the girls arrived dressed in Chloé, it was the brand they wore in private life.
We wanted to be their friend, we had this feeling of solidarity and at the same time we had fun.
» We remember Natalia Vodianova (whose first fashion show it was), Liya Kebede (in the front row too!), but also Jessica Miller, Suvi Koponen and Doutzen Kroes who we have the pleasure of seeing parade here .
On the podium, we find this gold metal belt writing Chloé reinterpreted from a 1978 collection, and this other snake belt from 1969, also a horse's head pendant taken from a print by Karl and already revisited by Stella McCartney.
Chloé fall-winter 2024-25 collection.
photo: Carlo Scarpato / Gorunway
The thigh-high boots, particularly well cut, and the bags are sized for life (including a neo-Paraty) because “
at Chloé, these are not precious objects, but an object that we use every day
".
Proof of this is his personal camera bag filled with his entire life and that of his two children... Burgundy and navy intersect the palette both luminous and muted of nude brown, camel, pink beige, powder pink, classics by Chloe.
But also grays and khakis, lilac blues and matcha greens.
The girls pass by and we feel like we're picking up the story where we left off about ten years ago.
We are not talking about a revolution, but about a warm, moving reunion.
Because in the streets of Paris and elsewhere, we missed this girl Chloé a lot.