Chloé: Kamali's collection of 'obsessions' – and rumours about Saint Laurent
Broderie anglaise, vinyl coats and Apple Martin's runway debut: Chemena Kamali showed a personal collection for Chloé. She is now tipped as the next designer at Saint Laurent.
Photo: Patrick Michels / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Video: YouTube · Chloé · youtube.com
For summer 2027, Chloé creative director Chemena Kamali went through the house archive in search of her own "obsessions". "I wanted to explore Chloé archetypes, never stereotypes," she told AnOther Magazine. The defining element was broderie anglaise based on Edwardian originals, used for dresses among other pieces. It was joined by coats and capes in smoky transparent vinyl with 1970s silhouettes, sou'wester hats and a scalloped-edge tuxedo reworking the 1972 "Noel" suit.
A fanzine on every seat showed Kamali's past work and influences. Apple Martin, the 22-year-old daughter of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin, made her runway debut at the show; guests included Natasha Lyonne, Alexa Chung and Cynthia Erivo. In the show notes Kamali wrote: "May the love that poured into this collection endure forever."
Those words are now being read as a possible farewell. Since Kering confirmed Anthony Vaccarello's departure from Saint Laurent on 9 October, Kamali has been reported by WWD, Reuters and Wallpaper as the favourite to succeed him. Neither Saint Laurent nor Chloé has confirmed this. Kamali was women's ready-to-wear design director at Saint Laurent from 2016 to 2023. The show can be watched on Chloé's official YouTube channel.