Paris Fashion Week: Hippie modernism meets the Mediterranean in Chloé’s spring and summer 2019 collection
The first thing that came to mind when the spring and summer 2019 Chloé collection started coming down the runway here Thursday was how perfect the hippie-flavored flared trousers, paréo skirts and twisted silk lariat belts would fit in at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. By the time we saw the T-shirt depicting a pair of hands raised toward an ombré sunset, we’d pretty much convinced ourselves that the collection had been inspired by what creative director Natacha Ramsay-Levy had found on the dusty polo fields of Indio, Calif.
We were wrong. The show notes describe the Chloé girl embarking on a “Mediterranean journey under the sun,” and a collection defined by “new-age revival.” In our defense, though, the notion of a “Chloé-chella” collection probably had a lot to do with the fact that we ran into the sisters-rock band Haim (Danielle, Este and Alana Haim) on the way into the show venue, and they had worn the label to memorable effect — when they performed at Coachella earlier this year.
Inspirational source aside, the collection’s hippie modernism vibe — scarf prints, tank dresses, tops with handkerchief hems and tunics cascading in goddess pleating — are sure to make the collection a hit with the free-spirited, festival-flitting flock, as will the range of pieces embroidered with shells or studded with chunky amulet-like gems.
Ramsay-Levy’s collection — her third since taking the creative helm at Chloé — also tapped into some of the trends we’ve started to notice this week, including the generously cut or flared trouser leg (also in evidence at New York Fashion Week) and a color palette heavy on neutrals, particularly shades of beige.
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