Quirky. Chloé SS26

Although Chemena Kamali drew inspiration from Gaby Aghion’s (Chloé’s founder) archives from the 1950s and ’60s, she managed to reinterpret the mini dresses with bubbly, couture-like shapes in a contemporary, quirky-but-chic way. At first, I wasn’t sure about the fullness of some of the floral bows and drapes – often rendered in acidic colourways and styled with contrasting leggings – but there’s something undeniably fascinating about the oddness of this silhouette. I’m also obsessed with the distinctly 1980s make-up moment: the flashy, bold pink lipstick that creates a cool tension against the “safe” beiges of the shoulder-padded trench coats. Add to that the PVC sandals and Vanessa Beecroft’s photographic lens at the show, and you get a fresh, not so obvious vision of the Chloé-by-Chemena girl – less lace-y and Sienna Miller-esque than before.