Women designers are often lauded for their pragmatism—it’s one of the fashion industry’s trappings and its biggest gender stereotype. “I think what makes us different is I think there’s a strong female energy,” Kamali says, “a female point of view, which makes it obviously very personal and very intuitive.” It’s why her collections are still standouts in the landscape of Paris Fashion Week each season. Rather than corsets and stiff tailoring or other concoctions that swaddle and contort the body, Kamali lets it breathe with perfectly adjusted volume and proportion. Her keenness for comfort does not make her clothes less elegant, but rather proposes an alternative, consistent point of view.
FEATURE FIT Sienna Miller in Chloe at the Cannes Film Festival in 2024.Getty Images
“A lot [of fashion] feels very forced, very strategized and merchandised and conceptualized and overly produced and trying to tick as many boxes as possible,” Kamali says. “Sometimes if you incorporate too many points of views, the message gets diluted.”
More than anything, Kamali wants to get at the spirit of Chloé, distilling its essence to its purest iteration. “People are informed. They are smart. The audience today is very much aware and connected,” Kamali says. “They want to understand what this brand stands for.”
Kamali was appointed at the same time as a handful of other lieutenants were taking the reins at various brands. Sabato De Sarno, formerly at Valentino, took on Gucci; Adrian Appiolaza, formerly at Loewe, took on Moschino; Peter Hawkings, Tom Ford’s protégé, took on his label. Two years later, Kamali is the last one standing from this quartet. Her spiritual approach might sound esoteric. But she’s clearly cracked the code.
“Chloé is a very emotional brand,” Kamali says. “It triggers feeling, it triggers instant emotion.”
It’s what makes women gravitate to her universe, something that became evident as Cleveland instructed the cohort at the portrait sitting on how to pose: “Dance, move!” she said as Hemingway jumped over a bench and Chung leaned forward to get closer to Weinstock and the lens. These women moved freely and, most importantly, comfortably. “I always say thank God for fashion, the real world is as rough as cement,” Cleveland told me in between shots. She then relaxed into her pose and held on to Kebede. They had entered the Chloé state of mind.
