MacGibbon Mixes Up The Sexes For Chloé
by Rie Cau posted on March 12, 2009Chloé’s fall runway presentation, shown last Wednesday afternoon in Paris, was a smart and stylish display that put the essence of the French luxury brand back onto the world’s stage of High Fashion.
The collection, the second so far from the British designer Hannah MacGibbon, consisted of an impeccable mélange of rustic masculine pieces and French flirty femininity.
“We were thinking of something that was late seventies, early eighties,” said MacGibbon referring to the prime era of the 57-year-old Parisian house. “Like the fashion illustrator Antonio Lopez’s girls .”
This translates to a sharp shuffle of styles and looks, inspired by stars like Brooke Shields, Christie Brinkley, Jessica Lange, Jerry Hall, Grace Jones and Lauren Hutton.
Visually, the runway was transformed into a delectable menu consisting of heavy blanket-style coats and capes, military jackets, western shirts à la John Wayne, baggy trousers cinched with an assortment of tough-love belts or drawstring, majorly oversized bags and comfortable flats evolved from the gladiator trend – all permanently borrowed from the menswear department.
The look, even with this sense of sportiness and a hint of strict military influence, emits sensibility and sensuality that is permanently glued to the identity of a Chloé girl – to be demonstrated by models effortlessly swishing down the runway and rhythmically followed by the subtle movement of the clothing and the wavy voluminous blonde hair with soft bouncy locks inspired by the 80s.
There are also Chloé’s signature pieces, like sexy shirt dresses as well as an exquisite assortment of neat structured blouses with delicate details, like gentle frills and lace trimmings.
Footwear wise, there are laced up booties in suede or leather and flamboyant over-the-knee boots; one pair of which has a satin finish all over with gold trimmings above the knee. They will fit flawlessly into a Chloé girl’s cool-yet-panache wardrobe.
Ralph Toledano, Chloé’s chairman and CEO, told the Associated Press in a backstage interview that “the DNA of the brand, the femininity, the elegance, the sensuality, the attitude” are precisely encapsulated by Ms. MacGibbon and that the collection successfully exhibits the beauty of a woman up to standards.
Despite this positive encouragement, this collection undoubtedly flows parallel to some of the work by Phoebe Philo, the British designer who was Chloé’s former creative director from 2001 to 2005. In particular, the oversized coats and baggy trousers from this season touched common ground that was once proclaimed as Philo’s special sovereignty.
Thereby, some of the meaner fashion critics view Hannah MacGibbon as the shadow of Ms. Philo and raises concerns for Ms. MacGibbon’s future, and have given her mixed reviews.
However, considering MacGibbon’s smart collection, which impeccably creates “an effortless and uninhibited attitude” fittingly targeted to their young audience and their special need for a unique identity with an attitude, the collection I think, is for sure en route to success.
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