Chemena Kamali, Chloes recently appointed creative director, and I met in Paris one Monday in late January.
She also worked for Anthony Vaccarello at Saint Laurent for six years, joining the house in 2016.
Movingly, the collection will be dedicated to her father, who passed away last week.
Chemena Kamali photographed in her office at Chloé.
Chemena, Id like to begin by going back to when you first started working at Chloe.
This is my third time here.
My first time was more than 20 years ago.
Chloé, spring 2003 ready-to-wear
As part of my undergraduate course I had to do an internship.
I took my portfolio on the train from Dusseldorf to Paris.
Do you have a rendezvous?
Chloé, spring 2004 ready-to-wear
I would like to apply for an internship.
I was told: Well, you have to make an appointment.
No-one has time to see you.
Chloé, fall 2009 ready-to-wear
Two weeks later, they called me to say that I could start.
So you wanted Chloe and only Chloe.
What was it like to actually work there?
Chloé, spring 2015 ready-to-wear
It was like this world was opening up in front of me.
It was really like,Okay, this is where I belong.
It wasnt necessarily about the clothesit was more about the spirit of that woman.
WALKING THE WALK Chemena Kamali was appointed creative director of Chloé last October. When Kamali, 42, was interviewing for the job, she told the people at Chloé: I really would like to bring back these feelings that I had when I fell in love with the house in the first place. I strongly believe that there are a lot of women out there, worldwide, who have this longing, who remember those days and want to feel it again, because Chloé really is an emotional brand.
There was a sense of freedom.
The images were so great.
The girls were caught in the off moment, not so posed, or passivethey weredoingsomething.
You joined at one of the pivotal moments for the house.
What was it like working with the Chloe team back then?
It was really just about what they wanted to wearas easy as that.
Nothing was conceptualized or intellectualized.
It was very much rooted in reality.
There was this urgency back then, because you could relate to the woman.
It was an iconic moment for fashion, this intuitive way of dressing.
I imagine all of this is really playing into your vision of Chloe.
Keep that for Chloe!
She was one of the very few women who had the courage to start a fashion business back then.
She was someone who said, You know what?
She was very much ahead of her time.
She was a pioneerthe first to do ready to wear, but that has never really been properly communicated.
And that sense of liberation and this idea of freedom is still relevant to what were doing.
I wish there would be more of that.
And I loved the Spring-Summer 2015 collection when I was there with Claire Waight Keller.
Speaking of your clothes, I heard that you have an amazing archive of vintage blouses.
Is the one youre wearing part of it?
This ones old, no name, no tag.
I probably have 600, 700.
Are they all at your home?
They start with white and off-white, and then go into beiges and blush tones.
Do you wear all of them?
I wear about 80 percent.
Some are just too over the top, or too complicated, or too ripped apartbut I love blouses!
If theres one thing thats very Chloe, its the blouse.
You mentioned when we started speaking that he was a big part of you falling for Chloe.
A crucial, foundational period was the Karl era.
I always go back to that.
I study each collection.
His Chloe was about the now and whats going to come next.
Its very much a holistic approach.
Will the pre-fall be reflected in your fall 2024 collection, your debut runway show?
The show collection will definitely be an evolution of the pre-collection.
And if you had to describe that runway debut in five words, what would they be?
Chloe, Chloe, Chloe, Chloe, Chloe!
Good answerif evasive [laughs]!
We try everything just to get our own feeling on it.
I always ask the women around me: Would you wear that?
And if the answer is No, its a no.
Theres always this kind of reality check.
You were carrying the new Camera Bag from your pre-fall, with a leather trench from the same collection.
They are extremely important to mebecause again, its not about categories.
For me the bags, accessories, leather coats, the blouseseverything really sits together.
Always soft, in vegetal leather, with an untreated grain patina.
I love this new perfect cognac shade weve done, which took us a few testings to get right.
We have a responsibility to be extremely authentic and honest.
It’s more doing what feels rightand again, that comes down to intuition.
I could really relate to that when I was 20, but she has evolvedshes notjustthat anymore.
Its about having that spirit in your mind and your heart, no matter how old you are.
She has a vibeshe has this energy, this little bit of cheekiness.
She really followed her dreams: Shes a mother, and she does amazing work with her charity.
Theyre all amazing women.
They come on set, and you feel a real connection.
It was just so nice and so gentle, and everyone caredit was such a womans house.
There’s a lot of awareness.
Its 100% ingrained in the way we work.
It has to be a given today.
How was your life there?
And then you drive a lot, so you listen to a lot of music.
I think theres something very Chloe about this California mindset.
I love Coppolas female point of view.
You know what is so amazing about LA?
Theres zero judgmentpeople just do whatever they feel like doing.
Its still very abstract.
Really, honestly, I havent given it a lot of thought.
You know what I think that comes from?
Thats something that is important for my Chloe moving forward.
