Free, fluid and fun, Chemena Kamali reinvents the contemporary Chloé woman with her first collection for Paris Fashion Week.
Having previously spent an impressive twenty years exploring Chloé’s atelier, Chemena Kamali is no stranger to the Maison’s free-spirited, feminine aesthetic. Born in Germany in 1981, Kamali graduated from Central Saint Martins and began her career working alongside Phoebe Philo for the French fashion house. After a few years, Kamali returned as design director to Claire Waight Keller. Following the appointment of Kamali as Chloé’s creative director in October last year, the designer has just debuted her first collection for the Maison during Paris Fashion Week.
“I want to bring back the feeling I had when I first stepped through the doors here 20 years ago and fell in love with the Chloé woman’s spirit. I want to feel her presence again, her sense of freedom and undone-ness.”
“Coming back to Chloé feels very natural; almost like returning home for a new beginning,” reads Kamali’s autumn-winter 2024 show notes. And Kamali’s innate familiarity with the Maison is immediately evident. Confident and assured, onlookers and fashion lovers across the globe have been praising her return. Harkening back to the 1970s era of the house, Kamali has tapped into the glow and radiance of the timeless Chloé woman.
“I want to bring back the feeling I had when I first stepped through the doors here 20 years ago and fell in love with the Chloé woman’s spirit. I want to feel her presence again; her beat, her natural beauty, her sense of freedom and undone-ness. The glow, the radiance and the energy of that girl. She is real. She is herself,” explains the creative director.
The designer has also honored the pioneering work of Gaby Aghion – the founder of Chloé – with her latest seasonal offering. Free, natural and warm; the collection features an array of unrestricted, fluid silhouettes. As the first model paraded down the runway, Kamali’s distinct vision for Chloé was realized.
The first look; an ivory mini dress fitted with voluminous sleeves, layered with a delicate cropped black poncho and paired with square-toe flats for added elegance. Carefully reinterpreting past silhouettes and forms, Autumn Winter 2024 demonstrates an effortless maturity and style evolution for the Maison. The collection feels so abundantly Chloé, in part, thanks to Kamali’s venture into its impressive archive. Banana-handle bags, belts adorned with the Chloé logo and updated patchwork jeans were all nods to classics of the past. Similarly, the creative director referenced archival looks – particularly those by Karl Lagerfeld – through clever styling choices. For example, dresses were tucked into thigh-high boots to elevate and liberate the body.
Accessories were also not to be overlooked. From oversized Aviator sunglasses to maximalist golden jewelry and enveloping bags, the collection encapsulates the daring Chloé attitude.
As the only woman to be named a creative head of a luxury fashion house in recent years, Kamali perpetuates Chloé’s interest in uplifting and empowering female practitioners. From their partnership with UNICEF to the arrival of Kamali, Chloé continues to strive for equality across all sectors.
And as the new creative director took her bow on the runway, enthusiastically met by one of her sons mid-run – it became clear that the designer’s debut marks a sparkling fresh chapter for the Maison.
All imagery courtesy of Chloé.
