Quirky. Chloé SS26

October 14, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

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.

ED’s SELECTION:

Chloé Paddington Embellished Leather Tote

Chloé Gathered Cotton-dupioni Jacket

Chloé Floral-brocade Mini Skirt

Chloé Misty Laser-cut Leather Ballet Flats

Chloé Ribbed Cotton Top

Chloé High-rise Wide-leg Jeans

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram!

Hey, did you know about my newsletter – Ed’s Dispatch? Click here to subscribe!

Frivolous. Chloé Resort 2026

July 11, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

Chemena Kamali‘s Chloé has been vintage-inspired and infused with nostalgia since her debut collection, but it seems the designer is letting some more frivolity to her work. The Chloé girl is ultimately a fun girl: striding the streets of Paris in clogs (a reference to Phoebe Philo’s tenure at the brand), swirling and dancing in flou silks and floating dresses, looking like a nonchalant, mysterious character straight out of a Guy Bourdin photograph. Immersing herself in early ’80s movies, like Brian de Palma’s thriller “Dressed to Kill” and Bette Gordon’s “Variety”, Kamali isn’t exactly interested in the (very exhausted) notion of power-dressing, but rather blending the era’s seemingly-naïve femininity with its by-gone, chic attitude. Bold and quirky shades of cobalt and aquamarine go in pair with sensual lace trims and the irresistibly joyful flamingo motif. Oui, oui, oui.

ED’s SELECTION:

Chloé Lace-trimmed Silk-jacquard Camisole

Chloé Frayed High-rise Flared Jeans

Chloé Eve Leather Over-the-knee Boots

Chloé Bracelet Embellished Suede And Snake-effect Leather Shoulder Bag

Chloé Ruffled Floral-print Cotton-voile Mini Dress

Chloé Button-embellished Wool-blend Bouclé Mini Skirt

Chloé Kick Suede, Mesh And Leather High-top Sneakers

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram!

Hey, did you know about my newsletter – Ed’s Dispatch? Click here to subscribe!

Femme. Chloé AW25

March 10, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

Oh to be a Chloé girl in the Chloé world. Undone hair and blushing, au naturel. In her floor-sweeping silk skirt (she doesn’t care whether it gets wet in a Parisian puddle) and embroidered, satin jacket that looks like an antique find at Paul Bert Serpette. Chemena Kamali envisions her woman (or rather an eternal girl) through a nostalgia-tinged lens, frivolously mixing various Chloé references across decades: Lagerfeldian dolman-sleeved blouses, McCartney’s feminine sense of fun, Philo’s Paddington bag (it’s so back). There’s also a sense of naughty decadence about that femme: the scarves with fluffy pompoms caused a stir on social media, accidentally (or not) sparking the world-old debate: to fur or not to fur? The autumn-winter 2025 had an unexpected shift: from soft-focus romantic boho girl (but done in the 2000s London it-girl way) to the shoulder-padded and miniskirted power-look of early ’80s. “In a way, a woman’s wardrobe evolves naturally over time. It’s uncurated. You buy things throughout time, you collect them, keep them, give them away, sometimes you rediscover them.” A valid point made.

ED’s SELECTION:

Chloé Luna Cutout Leather Ballet Flats

Chloé Ruffled Silk-georgette Blouse

Chloé Bracelet Embellished Textured-leather Shoulder Bag

Chloé Cropped Leopard-print Cotton-velvet Straight-leg Pants

Chloé Kick Suede And Leather-trimmed Mesh Sneakers

Chloé Oversized Belted Shearling-trimmed Leather Coat

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram!

Hey, did you know about my newsletter – Ed’s Dispatch? Click here to subscribe!

Lightness. Chloé SS25

October 1, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Pardon my review absence for the last couple of days, but I was in Paris for fashion week. I’m catching up now – equipped with a much-needed, refreshed perspective on what’s going on in the industry, IRL. Let’s start with Chloé!

Chemena Kamali is on a roll. It’s her second full season at Chloé, and the way her take on the brand resonates with the industry – and clients who are literally storming the boutiques in Paris! – is a rare thing to see nowadays. Also, comparing to other designers this season, she presented a proper, summer collection that actually felt summer-ish. And just like in her confident debut, Kamali once again showcases her intimate understanding of Chloé’s history. Photos of Karl Lagerfeld designed collections were pinned to the mood board in her studio. Two of her most inspired lifts were the waist shapers of spring 1977 and the lace bloomers of spring 1978. Jackets – in sturdy workwear cotton or soft suede – gave the sensual lightness of these pieces a reality check. It’s good to see flou femininity back on Chloé runway – for some reason, Kamali’s predecessors thought it wasn’t the right thing to channel. But there’s a new sense of strength in these carefree girls and women wearing floral-bouquet-print dresses in cascades of ruffled chiffon.

And speaking of Chloé stores in Paris, here’s what I saw at the rue de Saint-Honore boutique: the perfect marriage between retail and art. Mie Olise Kjærgaard‘s absolutely beautiful paintings are exhibited across the entire space, perfectly matching the current season.

And FYI, here’s what you should get from new Chloé!

ED’s SELECTION:

Chloé Mona Fringed Leather Pumps

Chloé Cape-effect Open-back Ruffled Silk-crepon Gown

Chloé High-rise Wide-leg Jeans

Chloé Eve Ruffled Suede Knee Boots

Chloé Bracelet Embellished Leather Shoulder Bag

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
Don’t forget to follow Design & Culture by Ed on Instagram!

Hey, did you know about my newsletter – Ed’s Dispatch? Click here to subscribe!

Wish-List: New Chloé

September 3, 2024September 2, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Chemena Kamali’s highly anticipated debut collection for Chloé has finally hit the stores, and damn, these clothes are hot. You know, sometimes you’ve got a brilliant fashion show or a look-book, but when you see the clothes separately, there’s just no spark. But in case of Kamali, she really did deliver. These pieces, which are the perfect balance of nomadic 1970s and boho 2000s, carry a sort of authentic patina that you get with vintage clothes that age well.

The designer’s first season at Chloé is her very personal ode to the maison. Kamali knows the history of the brand inside out, because she worked there as a Chloé-obsessed junior designer in the early 2000s under Phoebe Philo’s creative direction, and then again under Clare Waight Keller. She’s really at home here, and you can sense that in the way she so effortlessly revisits the Chloé vocabulary and codes. You have Gaby Aghion’s, the brand’s founder, carefree femininity; Karl Lagerfeld’s bourgeois chic he cultivated throughout three decades of designing at the brand; and the cool-girl spirit that Stella McCartney, Phoebe Philo, and Hannah McGibbon ignited in the aughts. But Chemena’s clothes and accessories also feel grounded in reality. The designer herself is a working mom, and she wants to make clothes that aren’t only feminine, but wearable. One might say that there’s nothing truly ground-breakingly innovative about the new Chloé. But then we live in post-post-modern world where nostalgia keeps on fueling current aesthetics. And Kamali orchestrates that nostalgia really well. Plus, I really love this brand, and I couldn’t stand what Gabriela Hearst was doing with it for the past few years. So seeing Chloé being Chloé again is just so pleasing.

The best of Chemena’s autumn-winter 2024 collection?