Scene setting: In 1964, Karl Lagerfeld went to meet Gaby Aghion of Chloé, armed with a pack of sketches, including a beige shantung dress paired with yellow tights. Aghion was attracted to Lagerfeld’s unusual total look silhouette and a creative relationship prospered. He worked for the brand not just from 1963 and 1983 but also from 1992-1997. Lagerfeld’s legacy at the house was the focal point of the brand’s A/W 2019 collection. A pack of postcards was placed on every guest’s seat, featuring images of Lagerfeld’s creations for Chloé, and a series of poignant quotations including a 1977 quote in French Vogue: ‘My dresses are for women that go beyond the obvious.’
Mood board: Natacha Ramsay-Levi’s aesthetic certainly goes beyond obvious. The designer worked at Louis Vuitton and Balenciaga under Nicolas Ghesquière, and since taking the creative helm of Chloé in 2017, she has bought a new edge and modernity, to the typically bohemian brand. Trousers were slim with utilitarian pocket details, jackets imagined in tailored regimental shapes, dresses in diaphanous handkerchief shapes, or as lacy detail slip dresses layered with balloon sleeve shirts.
Best in show: The tailoring was particularly powerful, and included a khaki double-breasted coat with gold buttons and fur trim, a boxy teal silk bomber jacket and a oversized beige cape. Pieces that go beyond the obvious. §
