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!
