PARIS: CHLOE SPRING/SUMMER 2010

I put Yves Saint Laurent and Gucci-era Tom Ford in the same category as Stella McCartney-era Chloe – to die for.

But McCartney’s departure from Chloe and foray into her own namesake line made room for another talented designer, Phoebe Philo, who continued on with McCartney’s path to making Chloe one of the quintessentially “cool” high-end brands of today. Philo has since left Chloe, enjoyed motherhood and is today exercising her creative juices at Celine, leaving room for Hannah MacGibbon who has been the artistic director since last year. Unfortunately, I’m not as crazy about what MacGibbon has been presenting.

 
There was a clear masculine-inspiration for a number of the pieces, which were on the boxy, droopy side.

Unlike McCartney who can make a loose-fitting silhouette sexy, here the looks just felt ill-fitting – like a young girl trying on her grandfather’s blazer that is 8 sizes to big for her.

Coupled with flat shoes, a number of other looks looked downright dowdy.  A shapeless long black skirt was paired with an elbow-length olive green blouse that covered the model’s entire chest, for example.

 
MacGibbon also presented a series of capes and ponchos that looked like Little Red Riding Hood crossed with a safari warrior – I can’t imagine anyone landing on a “hit” list wearing one of them on the street.

The same could be said about the head-to-toe patch denim look she showed.

Not all was lost, however.  There were beautifully tailored crisp pants and the bags shown will surly have their “it” moments next Spring season.

Images courtesy of the Fashion Spot forums.