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Paris, like many cities in the summer, is on edge.
FLOW STATE“I’m just expressing the most honest form of femininity,” says Kamali, photographed at the Hôtel d’Avaray in Paris.Fashion Editor: Amanda Harlech.Vogue, October 2024.
There are snarls of traffic clogging the streets; entire thoroughfares are closed.
Inside theChloeheadquarters on Avenue Percier, however, a calmer mood pervades.
She grins regularly, a warm, Cheshire Catlike smile that spreads across her entire face.
HANG TIMEAngelina Kendall wears Chloé (here and throughout story); chloe.com.
Kamalisappointmentas Chloes creative director in October of 2023shetook overfromGabriela Hearstdid not surprise those who knew her and the brand.
Later, I asked if a Chemena Kamali label would look different from her work for Chloe.
(Hearst kept her own label while at the helm of the brand.)
SPEAKING VOLUMESIf Kamali’s debut Chloé show was a moment of triumph, it was also, she says, “one of the hardest in my life.”
HANG TIMEAngelina Kendall wears Chloe (here and throughout story); chloe.com.
That honest form of femininity seems to be resonating in an astonishingly assured way.
Her models strode down the runwayhands in pockets, loose waves bouncingto Cloudbusting by Kate Bush.
LARGER THAN LIFEFrom left: Kamali with her son Vito in Ibiza in 2019; in California, age six; at 13, readingVoguein bed; backstage before her first Chloé show in February. Photos: courtesy of Chemena Kamali; far right: Jody Rogac.
(A management consultant, he helped Pfizer-BioNTech roll out their vaccine during the pandemic.)
What was it, exactly, that hit such a pleasing nerve?
If you couldntbeher, you wanted to be near her, or at least dress like her.
HOUSE PROUDKarl Lagerfeld and a Chloé model in 1979, photographed by Helmut Newton. Lagerfeld’s work for Chloé, Kamali says, was a huge inspiration.
These were tailored pieces without slogans or logos that nonetheless communicated a message of strength and determination.
Chloe is not transformativewearing Chloe is about feeling like yourself.
The couple settled in the town of Dortmund, near Dusseldorf, and later opened clothing boutiques.
LIFE’S RICH TAPESTRYKamali’s Chloé is power-dressing, yes—but undeniably feminine.
She loved to watch customers trying things on, says Monika.
Kamali has a brother, Ariannow an artist living in Germanyand the four of them were a tight-knit unit.
When Kamali was 11, her parents moved the family to Orange County, California.
THE LONG GAME“Wearing Chloé is about feeling like yourself,” says Kamali.
With limited English, the Kamali kids were unmoored.
(My parents were like, Its just going to make them stronger, Kamali says.)
The girls in particular, Kamali says, were next level.
SUITS HERVice President Harris wore a Chloé suit in “coconut brown” on the first night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
It was the era of Nirvana and the Smashing Pumpkins, of MTV and teen magazines.
Photos: courtesy of Chemena Kamali; far right: Jody Rogac.
She met Wehrum, who was attending a different university, at a party.
TAKE A BOWAnd again in Chloé on the last night of the DNC.
She clearly back then already had a very distinctive look, says Wehrum.
Sounds nice, he replied; Ill come along.
There are some occasions in your life, Wehrum says, when you know that theres something special happening.
Its this carelessness of youth, she says now, reflecting.
Youre not scaredyou do think like,This is a bit weird.But youre not afraid to do it.
HOUSE PROUDKarl Lagerfeld and a Chloe model in 1979, photographed by Helmut Newton.
Lagerfeld’s work for Chloe, Kamali says, was a huge inspiration.
She remembers the Chloe studio as wild and messy, full of loud music and opinionated women.
I fell in love immediately with the energy, she says.
The other internsshe was the youngestcomplained, but she thought it amazing to see the inspiration firsthand.
She studied under the legendarily discerning professorLouise Wilson.
She was like, Youre so German.
You are always here.
You always turn things in on time, Kamali recalls.
Kamali showed up the next day, on time, as always.
When half the class wasas was conventionalkicked out by the second year, the dynamic shifted.
The fact that she was so hard on me just prepared me for the industry.
Of course, the appearance of ease is almost always girded by hours of exertion.
Those laid-back California surfers put in their time sweating under the sun.
Some of their furniture was still making its way to America when they turned around.
It was like we were in our bubble, and it belonged to us.
She pored over the details, just as she had obsessed over her first show, barely sleeping.
Outside, in the predawn light, a neighbor waved at her and wished her luck.
LIFES RICH TAPESTRYKamalis Chloe is power-dressing, yesbut undeniably feminine.
Just days earlier, her father, who had been quite ill for some time, abruptly died.
He knew, she says.
I honestly dont know how I did it.
I think I was in shock, and my body and my mind went into this weird mode.
I know that he wouldve said to me, You have to do this.
You have to stay focused and do this.
I think that helped me.
They moved there somewhat reluctantly, knowing the family had been spoiled by the space of California.
The house in Neuilly is located on a quiet street.
For all of her free-spirit vibes, Kamali is unceasingly meticulous.
Overflow is stored in the basement and at her parents house.
Kamali is firmly in the latter camp.
It gives a strong foundation, she asserts, taking something from the past and translating it for today.
And while she presumably had a hand in inviting Sienna Miller, a.k.a.
To her, its reductive, devoid of broader historical influences.
I could stay here for hours, she sighed.
Kamali reached for one dress, and Sommier stopped her.
I cant break the rules, she chided, handing her a plastic glove.
What if someone sees?
Boxes and boxes of Lagerfelds artifacts line the shelves.
He made the most unconstructed garments at Chloe, said Kamali.
As few seams as possible, Sommier continued, as little finishing as possible.
Gaby was always telling him: Lighter, lighter, lighter.
Gaby is Gaby Aghion, the Jewish, Egyptian-born whirlwind who founded Chloe in Paris in 1952.
Ive got to work, Aghion told her husband the year she founded the label.
Its not enough to eat lunch.
Freedom of movement was a priority.
A thing of beauty and quality should be seen on women in the streets.
THE LONG GAMEWearing Chloe is about feeling like yourself, says Kamali.
She describes attending aGerman state dinner honoring President Emmanuel Macronlast spring.
In the end, she wore a loose dress from the Chloe pre-collection, adapted for modesty.
I was like, Okaygood choice.
I think back to this story as we settle into her home office.
He had assumed she was running to him.
TAKE A BOWAnd again in Chloe on the last night of the DNC.
Theres always guilt, Kamali says.
When youre at home, you feel guilty that you didnt do something in the office.
And then when youre at the office, you feel guilty that youre not at home.
The elusive struggle for balanceshe winces at the termis more challenging than the actual job, she says.
I feel like Ive prepared for the job for the last 20 years.
I come in in the morning and Im just like, I love what Im doing.
But what I really find hard is the struggle I have with myself.
And it is exhausting.
I do not think gender shouldnotplay a role, she says.
In some ways, she thinks that such conversations minimize accomplishment, no matter the gender.
Yes, she continues, things change when you start a family: You are faced with other challenges.
In this story: For Kamali: hair, John Nollet; makeup, Karin Westerlund.
For Angelina: hair, James Pecis; makeup, Lisa Butler.
Manicurist: For Kamali: Sylvie Vacca; for Angelina: Anatole Rainey.
Produced by VLM Productions.
