Style.com

Chloé

post a comment
PARIS, October 3, 2011
By Nicole Phelps
Clare Waight Keller has replaced Chloé's Hannah MacGibbon, whose contract wasn't renewed earlier this year. MacGibbon had more successes at the label than her predecessor, Paulo Melim Andersson, did, but she never quite managed to recapture the magic of Chloé's Phoebe Philo years. So, what are the new girl's chances?

Waight Keller's credentials include a fairly long stint at Pringle of Scotland, where she did a good job of getting to the soul of the cashmere company. Her stint at Gucci under Tom Ford doing knits couldn't have hurt. The challenge at Chloé, which will celebrate its 60th anniversary next year, will be which roots to return to—the Karl Lagerfeld years? Philo's heyday? The latter isn't as strange a proposition as it sounds. Now that the nineties have been plundered, the aughties are inevitably next. Some saw shades of Phoebe in a navy silk and cream chiffon tuxedo shirt. But it was Karl's name Waight Keller checked; the hyperreal flower embroideries on crisp shirts and flowy shorts date to his era.

Aside from those florals, though, it didn't feel like a radical departure from MacGibbon's recent work. "Fluidity and femininity, but boyish" were Waight Keller's buzzwords backstage; she made them reality with lots of pleats, tented A-line shapes, foundation colors, and full trousers. The highlights were the belted, below-the-knee pleated dresses with marquetry patterns. Overall, the collection was pretty, but perhaps a bit safe. Right now, Waight Keller has the fashion world's goodwill. We'll be watching next season, rooting for her to loosen things up.

COMMENTS

(0) ADD YOURS
welcome ! logout
you must be logged in to leave a comment | join now

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

Follow us on Twitter

Loading...

Style File Blog

may 26, 2012

Shopping alert

On Our Radar: Chance

11:05 AM
When I was a kid, my mom used to dress me in stripes, and ever since then, I have racked up a...

Outside sources

Lara Stone’s Star Trek, And More Of Today’s Top Stories

10:05 AM

more from the style file blog ›
Subscribe to Style.com today!