Chloé's Fall/Winter 2023 Collection Celebrates the Heroines
Much like Gabriela Hearst's 17th-century muse, Chloe’s latest collection is beyond beauty.
Chloé’s Fall/Winter 2023 collection builds upon the baroque themes introduced by the house for Pre-Fall 2023. Gabriela Hearst, the label’s creative director, was inspired by Artemisia Gentileschi, a 17th-century artist who famously depicted heroines. Given that painting was not as profitable a profession for women at the time, Gentileschi was equal parts beauty and strength, making her ethos quite the match to Chloé’s effortless femininity.
Baroque fashion is about creating statements, hence pinstripes, harlequin diamonds, color blocking, and other easily interpreted details. Still, Hearst’s collection wasn't exclusively historical. Sculptural silhouettes mimicking 17th-century ideals of the sloping shoulder were reinvented with novel hemlines. Classically puffed off-the-shoulder sleeves became similarly avant-garde with tasteful circular cutouts featuring abstract metal details.
There were also turtlenecks—lots of turtlenecks—that varied in enticing ways, most notably when fabricated in plush fur. Pairing fleecy shearlings underneath leather would presumably appear quite heavy, but there was a surprising lightness to each of the looks. This was captured most subtly by soft scalloped edges decorating the collection’s initial looks of slip dresses and collarless jackets.
Like the 17th-century woman, lines were predominantly soft and romantic rather than sharp and severe. Considering Hearst's artist muse and partnerships with women-run enterprises, its presentation during Women’s History Month was serendipitous, to say the least. Chloé’s latest collection is an ode to the heroines, representing the nuances of femininity from a female point of view.
