Should you want proof of the impact that ’s has had on fashion in the one season since she took the helm of the house, look not to the catwalks of but to any high-street fashion store near you. It might not be as luxuriously or exactingly executed but you can’t deny the handwriting of her crowd-pleasing Chloé is everywhere; cascading ruffles, fluttering chiffons, sun bleached colours. is no longer a dirty word.
There is something radical about the romance that Kamali proposes. For her SS25 show during PFW she doubled down on the romance and whimsy via flou shirting, puffy bubble hems, onesies, wafty cami dresses and lace-trimmed knickerbockers (less likely to be seen on the possible next POTUS than the languid tailored trouser suits – but in 2024, you truly never know). Why does it resonate? Besides there being a compelling argument that sometimes you just want something uncomplicatedly appealing and really, pretty to wear, she also captures the hankering for running through fashion right now.
And nostalgia done right is layered; what the past looks like is subjective, memory is ever shifting and evolving. Sure, the Chloé SS25 collection might take its lead from ’s late-1970s collections for the maison, but it also draws on memories-of-memories: namely the early-Noughties interpretation of 1970s dressing (see: ) and the double-whammy allure of freedom and escapism. Freedom feels at once a pedestrian and outlandish desire in 2024.
Like duh, we’re a quarter way th.
