Gabriela Hearst Makes Her Chloé Debut
Gabriela Hearst's debut at Chloé takes place with the Fall/Winter 2021 collection, and coincides with the celebration of the centenary of the birth of the first creative director of the Parisian maison. The step from Gaby (Gaby Aghion) to Gabi (Hearst) is short. The talented Uruguayan designer Hearst brings her vision of minimal style and an attention to sustainability and ethical issues to her new post. The Chloé Fall/Winter 2021 collection dusts off Aghion's creations, paying homage to the designer. The meaning of Chloé—"flowering" in Greek—has never seemed more appropriate: to renew, innovate, and to consider the good of the planet.
A small ceramic button is the starting point, a small signature, which adorns the garments and becomes a pendant, a jewel, a charm for the bags. It continues with trench coats and tailored jackets that are knotted on the side of the leather and wool gauze dresses—the daywear has been developed with a precise construction. A strong component is knitwear: ultra-soft and recycled cashmere and multicolored stripes that naturally wink at Hearst's Uruguayan background. Through dresses with fringe and stripes and the "puffcho," an innovative poncho integrated with a down jacket, this personal inspiration is expressed with a relaxed yet modern spirit.
Note the scalloped details, which Aghion applied to a cotton piqué dress in her 1960 show at Brasserie Lipp. Here, it appears as topstitching on georgette blouses, in leather petals or patchwork denim, as a quilting technique, and along the cuffs of knitwear. The Broderie anglaise is transformed from classic to contemporary as a knitwear, and as a leather edge. The motif of the season, a colorful marbled effect, was conceived in New York—Hearst's home—from an artisanal technique with natural ingredients. A kaleidoscopic arfalla inlaid on sweaters and scarves raises awareness for the mass extinction in the world of insects. "If our insects go, we collapse as a species. This is why harmful herbicides and pesticides used in the making of our materials must be eliminated," Hearst said.
The choice of sustainable fabrics is just the beginning. A sustainability plan outlining goals for 2025 has been accelerated with a new one-year timeline. Utilizing low-impact raw materials, the Fall/Winter 2021 collection is four times more sustainable than last year. Plus, this season, 20 percent of ready-to-wear is produced by members of the World Fair Trade Organization, and Chloé also has partnered with Manos del Uruguay and Sheltersuit in a move for positive social impact to support local artisans who helped create various parts of the collection.
