Fashion followers have not been wondering about who will succeed designer Gabriela Hearst as creative designer of Chloe. The day before yesterday, the house announced Shimina Kamali as its successor. Although most of us have never heard of this name before, her CV is rich and qualifies her for this role more than others, as she began her career at Chloé. First on the British Phoebe Philo team, then on the Waight Keller team in 2013, before moving to work with Saint Laurent in 2016 as director of the design department led by Anthony Vaccarello.
Shimina Kamali (David Sims)
Shimina Kamali was born in 1981 in Germany and studied at the famous Central Saint Martin’s Institute in London. She was among the outstanding students, where she graduated with honors in 2007, which opened the doors of Chloe House for her. As for her current return as creative director, it has great implications that go beyond being an important milestone in her career. As she said, it is “both natural and personal,” adding: “My heart has been and still is in (Khloe) since I entered it for the first time more than 20 years ago.” She said this as if she were quoting Abu Tammam’s saying that “Love is only for the first lover.”
Kamali is currently expected to lead the house, which was founded by Alexandria’s daughter Gaby Aghignon in 1952 and is currently owned by the huge “Richmond” group, and move it to a new stage in which it builds on solid and successful foundations. She will receive from designer Gabriela Hearst a rich legacy. The latter presented her last collection during the Paris Spring/Summer 2024 Week after only three years, and attributed the reason for the separation to the fact that she found reconciling her own brand in New York with the “Chloé” brand in Paris difficult.
Gabriela Hearst danced in her last show for the house (EPA)
She danced to samba tunes at the end of a show in which she combined her South American origins in terms of the craftsmanship of embroidery with the romance rooted in the house’s roots in lines and colors. Everything in the atmosphere was really indicating that her exit was “my love” and with the agreement of all parties. Sales numbers and high revenues also confirm this, especially since the house has made an important shift in the aspect of “sustainability” in recent years.
The romantic style established by Alexandrian Gaby Agnon since 1952 has never disappeared (AFP)
In October 2021, the Uruguayan-born designer and Ricardo Bellini, president and CEO of the house, gave a press interview in which they stated that the house’s revenues had increased by 60 percent during her reign.
Literal embroideries and flowing lines in Hirst’s latest show (EPA)
But there had to be a quick replacement to succeed her, and there was no one better than Kamali, about whom Bellini said, “She has great creative skills, in addition to her long relationship with the house making her a natural choice… She understands its heritage and its symbols well,” continuing: “Her love The house and her personal relationship with it will have a positive impact on what it will witness in the future.”
Kamali will present her first collection from the “Bre Fool” line next January in Paris, followed by a collection from the ready-to-wear line during Paris Week in February 2024.
It should be noted that several designers took over the house after Gaby Aguinon’s retirement, perhaps the most important of whom was Karl Lagerfeld, who took over the house from 1964 to 1983, after which he handed the torch to designer Stella McCartney. She was an up-and-coming designer who had recently graduated, but she was up for the challenge. Her success encouraged the French house to cooperate with other British women who did not disappoint, such as Phoebe Philo, then Hannah McGibbon, and Clare Waight Keller, before the Uruguayan Gabriela Hearst took over the torch, and last but not least, the German Shimina Kamala.
