The 1990s is one of Spring’s big stories, but no one has put forward her interest in the decade more explicitly than Clare Waight Keller at Chloé. On every seat, there was a printed note: “This season’s collection is a tribute to girls named Kate, Chloé, Cecilia, Corinne, Rosemary, Emma, and Courtney, who embody the liberty and the elegance of a perfectly mastered and excessively lived simplicity.” Backstage, the designer explained she grew up alongside that motley crew of models, photographers, and superstar performers. For Waight Keller, they represent a freer time: “There’s such a fast pace to fashion now; I think we’ve lost the innocence of the spirit of fashion, the youthful optimism that it portrays. And I think there’s something quite joyful about fashion that’s been missing.”
In keeping with that sentiment, she imbued the new collection with a playful spirit, quite literally in the case of the rave-girl tracksuit separates she started with. Athleisure is something different for Chloé, and it was most convincing when Waight Keller combined a split-hem track pant with a romantic, off-the-shoulder shirt typical of the brand. As the show progressed, it took on more of those familiar Chloé tropes—festival dresses, peasant tops, lacy little bandeaux and miniskirts—but never lost its ’90s leanings. The denim separates were oversize and frayed. Overalls—in trouser and dress form—conjured images of raves gone by, too. There were even Hammer (as in MC) pants. All of which will likely play exceedingly well with young women who missed out on them the first time around.
Waight Keller had Georgina Grenville, Cecilia Chancellor, and Angela Lindvall representing the ’90s in the front row, but what a kick it would’ve been to see them on the runway in these clothes. Youthful optimism is wasted on the young.
