PARIS, October 6, 2002 – Chloé designer Phoebe Philo understands the first law of provocation: never act like you’re trying too hard. For spring, she trod a long-legged, high-heeled path through a collection that turned on the sex appeal without resorting to trashiness.

Philo also knows how to undercut the polished taste of a French house, via a smart young woman’s way of putting things together. She used conventionally proper materials like navy chiffon, pale suede, black satin and a Spanish-influenced print to make little dresses with a lot of impact. Some were decorated with silver bobbles, to shiver as the wearer walks, others prettily embellished with brass flowers. Instead of being tartily clinging and revealing, Philo’s tops were fluted and flew open at the neckline in a subtly undone way. She handled the obligatory leg-show with cuffed shorts and with low-slung skirts in gauzy fabrics, while the signature Chloé swimwear came in dressed-up two-pieces, tied around the body with beaded strings and trailing flirty little scarves.

Feminine and coolly accessorized with matching bags, this was a collection cleverly calculated to make men want to tear the clothes off a girl—in the nicest possible way, of course.

– Sarah Mower