“Becoming Karl Lagerfeld,” the six-episode television series now streaming on Hulu, is sure to pique fans' interest in early '70s fashion, which has proven to be a winning starting point for the new director. Chloé creative, Chemena Kamali.
The moodboard for his resort 2025 collection for the house wowed with photographs of Lagerfeld's apartment in Saint-Sulpice, whose shell-shaped sofa and other Art Deco furniture served as the setting for many fashion photo shoots, including one for Italian Vogue David Bailey who focused on a Chloé collection from 1975.
Kamali pollinated the colors and textures of that sumptuous apartment with Andy Warhol's Factory universe, which collided with Lagerfeld's clan in his underground film “L'Amour.” She has been a fan of the era's bohemian glamor, exemplified by models Pat Cleveland, Jane Forth and Donna Jordan, and has also posted photographs of Billy Mane's 1997 book, “All Tomorrow's Parties,” a longtime favorite of hers. .
She applied just the right dose of all that eccentricity, decadence and eclecticism to Chloé's coveted archetypes (frothy blouses, billowing empire dresses, muted camisole tops and cool jeans) and added a few outliers, including knee-length leather shorts, knit shorts and gold lamé. used car salesman plaid tunics and blazers.
“I wanted it to really feel like a girl's wardrobe, not too commercialized, to give a personal feel,” she said as racks of opulent black and gold fil coupe fabrics gave way to bolder colors and more extravagant styles, such as fringed leather jackets. and extreme flared pants. Butter-soft Henley shirts, a logo T-shirt, and soft sneakers reminiscent of boxing boots rooted the outfits in contemporary times.
For all the sharp references drawn from Chloé's vast visual archive, it can be said that Kamali also designs instinctively and with practicality in mind. The former is evident in her sudden penchant for accumulations of costume jewellery, which brought Loulou de la Falaise to mind, and the latter in her ingenious leather bucket bag, which seals when a gold ring is placed over the handles, and those distinctive sneakers in makeup colors and the suggestion of English embroidery on the mesh sections.
There's also humor in the little pineapple and banana charms scattered on ballet flats, bracelets, and bags hanging from your day bags. “There's always a banana,” Kamali said, laughing. “There's something upbeat about this collection that's relatable rather than escapist.”
