Let’s face facts: Fashion is an ego-driven industry full of out-sized personalities, and, while producing a collection is a collaborative effort, the ideas and direction behind said collection are often the fruits of one mind. So it’s always surprising to see two individuals successfully co-designing a label but that’s just what dynamic design duo – and sisters – Chloé and Parris Gordon of Chloé comme Parris have done for the last five seasons. The recipe for their early success? Chloé designs the clothing and Parris focuses on accessories.
For their fall/winter 2011 collection, their second showing at LG Fashion Week, the Calgary-based sisters christened a new erogenous zone—the hip—with glimpses of skin through cutouts on pants and shirts. The peek-a-boo element permeated the collection and reappeared as cutouts on the sides of fitted leather shorts and wrist-baring peeks on tailored shirts, dresses and pants all adorned with large silver buckles and straps.
And the sisters left no detail unturned. The buckled cuffs on a double-boiled wool dress were turned up to reveal plaid lining. Keyholes and cutouts were highlighted with the same large silver buckles and straps and the tailored shirts had a mullet effect: business in front and draped trains and sheer panels in the back.
What the black- and neutral-coloured collection lacked in palette, it made up for in proportion with texture and accessories that added visual interest. A crystal necklace that looked as if it was made of icicles was worn as a sash over outfits and a black shawl was adorned with metal charms and icicle crystals that chimed as the models stomped down the runway.
Standout pieces include a black wool trench coat with buckled epaulets, a white dress shirt with cutouts on the hips and inner wrists and black and grey leather handbags with tough straps and the ubiquitous buckles.
While the sisters still have some growing up to do (up-to-there slits on some skirts revealed a little too much) Chloé and Parris are definitely designers to watch, especially if you’re in the market for an urban nomad’s wardrobe.
