Am I the only one who is just a bit disappointed with this? Too much literal archive digging, I'd like to see something more progressive. I liked what Gabriela and Natacha did with the brand, they had their own voice. Maybe Chemena develops her own in the future, or at least stronger one.
I get your point, but Chloé has been out of the map for years... I think she wanted to say out loud "hey, Chloé is back" and she felt like she needed to go back to what people think Chloé is.
It is like ressetting the past 6 years. And yes, maybe it's too 70's, maybe it's too much flou, but I think it is what Chloé needs at the moment. Nobody knew anymore what Chloé was all about when Gabriela was there. It was insipid, it had zero soul. Shows were next level plain. The fabrics she chose were terrible. Super stiff and not in a good way. It wasn't desirable.
Here I see she wanted to bring back the old Chloé, the légèreté, the nonchalance... Glastonbury, 2008, the Olsen twins back in the days, the st*pid way of wearing the bags in the elbow (which I found cute here), the 70s... I think if feels just right and desirable. It is not Nicolas Ghesquière in 2008, it is not Helmut Lang... It is OK, Chloé doesn't need to be that.
I think she will develop her aesthetics and I hope she goes a little bit more pop (more Stella McCartney era in a way). I wanted to see bananas idk why (the invitation had one in gold, right?)
We are seeing still the oversize fashion everywhere, which has been out of fashion for a long while now (since Phoebe left Céline). Designers are still doing it (Matthieu for example). A change was long overdue and Chemena was brave enough to go for it.
The mid/late 2000 didn't do a comeback yet and she's been the first. There's a longing for that. There's a longing to look downtown, fashiony, cool, chic, whithout looking you are trying too hard, without being a fashion meme. There's a need for EASE. There's a need for cuteness. There is a need for "underdesigned" garments (everything is too over-designed). There's a need for cozy, airy, supple fabrics. There is a need for warmth. There is a need for fun and to enjoy. There is a need to not want to look super clowny in a fashion way and overdone. And this show gave me all that.