Something that made me think of this era, I was re-watching Project Runway Season 2 and the winner, Chloe Dao's line, reminds me so much of this era. I thought it was a rip-off!
Last edited by mint condish; 26-08-2012 at 03:12 PM.
This (along with Galliano) is really my earliest memory of fashion design. I'd stare at it for hours in my grandmother's magazines . Come to think of it, it must've been the styling and not the actual design what attracted me the most.. how everything looked so coordinated and different and still pretty.. I'm no longer into Stella's design but one thing I appreciate about her work and always did (without being able to assimilate it at such young age) was her take on trends.. her easy approach to them and how urban they were and made the models looked so.. cool.
I remember that for my sister's graduation party in 99 I made my mother take me to a bunch of stores in search of a grey skirt inspired by the one on Esther Cañadas (seen below). At the time it was so weird so wear that length (minis were still everywhere where I lived), and I felt so ground-breaking at 13.
I, too, don't care much for Stella's current work, but what she did at Chloe was so perfect. I loved how she elevated "street" trends, while doing it all the while with a healthy dose of tongue-in-cheek humor.
I think that is something that we're missing in fashion as of late - a reference to or an obsession with the street. And one that goes beyond the easy styling gimmick of throwing a pair of running shoes on it.
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Last edited by dior_couture1245; 26-08-2012 at 04:42 PM.
Oh I too LOVED Stella's work at Chloe. Cool really is the best word to describe it, because there was always that sense of reality to what she did, that slight quirk that made it seem very human. And I was always a fan of how she melded sort of tacky or even vulgar things with very classic, and at times very proper, things. There was always this attitude of "well, why not?" about her work there, like why not print horses on a cocktail dress and wear it with cornrows.
Thank you, Spike! (changed the embedded code to make it work!)
I had never seen this in motion .. it's fun, the beginning seems to symbolise a lot a bit of that über sexy aesthetic from 99-00.. it would be quite the topic in today's puritanism of most catwalks for sure .
Once the actual clothes start coming in, it is consistent with the Chloé girl as Stella conceived her.. lots of fun pieces, very trendy (so it looks quite outdated by now) but it's mostly due to the styling.. there are surprisingly several pieces that are still beautiful and timeless.. like that skirt with the printed horse and side pleating , actually most pleated pieces (like the other skin in min 8:00).. some of the outwear.
The super tight dresses at the end remind me of several looks Stella has continued to put out in her mainline.. one of her few signature shapes I'd say.
Thank you, Spike! (changed the embedded code to make it work!)
I had never seen this in motion .. it's fun, the beginning seems to symbolise a lot a bit of that über sexy aesthetic from 99-00.. it would be quite the topic in today's puritanism of most catwalks for sure .
Once the actual clothes start coming in, it is consistent with the Chloé girl as Stella conceived her.. lots of fun pieces, very trendy (so it looks quite outdated by now) but it's mostly due to the styling.. there are surprisingly several pieces that are still beautiful and timeless.. like that skirt with the printed horse and side pleating , actually most pleated pieces (like the other skin in min 8:00).. some of the outwear.
The super tight dresses at the end remind me of several looks Stella has continued to put out in her mainline.. one of her few signature shapes I'd say.
You're welcome. I've also never seen this collection in video and was really excited to when I found it.
To this day I still love those horse prints. Even though they, along with the pineapples (which still have a place in my heart ) are soooo specific and so easily identifiable with a time and place, they still look cool. It's just the whole clash of the frankly quite odd prints with a fairly classic, very chic and kind of grown up looking pieces that makes it interesting. It's all very trendy, very "fashion", but in the end they're all just great, sexy, feminine pieces with a bit of something extra.
I just love the fun of it, though. There are plenty of serious clothes, and it doesn't ever approach parody-level the way that someone like Jeremy Scott's work does, but there's such a sense of humor to this -- and all of her work at Chloe -- that I miss. The clothes are serious but the attitude never was.
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^ Agree, especially on the last part, the way she worked with the horses and pineapples remind me of how she's done campaigns now for her label with bambi and illustrations. Like you say, it never seems like a parody, or ironic or even overly cutesy.. more like a playful take on femininity and confidence.
Ahh I love this thread! I can't believe it's not bigger!! Stella for Clhoe was a big part what got me interested in fashion when I was younger, I still remember all those cheeky prints, pineapples, horses, skull playboy bunnies..I wish I could find pics of them..
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