This month, French fashion house Chloe celebrates her 60th anniversary. Alongside a retrospective at Palais de Tokyo, the brand have launched a digital alphabet...
Who? This month, French fashion house Chloé celebrates her 60th anniversary. Alongside a retrospective at Palais de Tokyo, entitled Chloé. Attitudes, the brand have launched a digital alphabet, an exploration of the brand's heritage, themes and stories.
"The Alphabet is inspired by Chloé founder Gaby Aghion’s own creative process for naming her collections and garments"
What? The alphabet is a clever way to explore one subject: 'C' is for counter culture, 'H' is for horses, 'L' is for light, 'O' is for the roundness of O, 'E' is for embroidery, and so forth... Short abstract introductions explaining each letter are accompanied by exclusive films and galleries of archive imagery. Detail shots of 90s sequin logos; Audrey Hepburn in 60s Chloé, sketches, references and striking fragrance campaign imagery from the 70s. The films, all created by female image-makers, include AnOther contributor Julie Verhoeven who offers her interpretation of the roundness of O, which is a recurring aesthetic for the house.
Why? The Alphabet is inspired by Chloé founder Gaby Aghion’s own creative process for naming her collections and garments. Finding numbers impersonal, she switched to letters, and the alphabet. In 1958, Collection ‘A’ was first, with every item in it given a name beginning with ‘A’. And the alphabet continued.
The exhibition Chloé. Attitudes opens at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris on September 29 and runs until November 18
Text by Laura Bradley
