Chloe FW13

The music starts and the first girl draped in a gray utilitarian cape walks down the runway. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't confused for the first sixty seconds. The models walk to music reminiscent of classic old-school hip-hop. (What?) I'm not sure what I was expecting… but the mixture of Chloe, Paris, and a hip-hop mix tape was an unexpected surprise blindsided me.   

  

Sweet frill with a touch of polished refinement is usually the tone at Chloe, that is, until this season. For her Fall-Winter 2013/2014 collection, Clare Waight Keller has opted for the tough schoolgirl who, apparently, has a thing for classic pinafore dresses.

In her forth collection for Chloe, the Chloe girl is edgy—in fact she’s a bit of a tomboy. Hence the showcase of Bermuda shorts, drawstring pants and billowing slacks. With an oversize bag slung around her shoulder and a gold clasp high around her left ear, her nonchalance and attitude is refreshing.

This collection consists of rich mixes of heavy fabrics, minimal ruffle and jeweled chain-fenced overlays. It is a vision of indigo and ink blues, a cool palette that matches the equally cool-girl attitude. Tomboy motifs aside, A-line skirts and pinafore dresses make their stance—and have serious rotations throughout. The collection mirrors a schoolgirl’s transformation into a lady, or in Waight Keller's words "an independent spirit." Full volume layered skirts speckled with small polka dots pull the story together, and wins me over. 

Viva la Chloe!