You could get lost in Chemena Kamali’s fascinating, dense mood boards for Chloé, which typically stretch across several boards, and for resort 2026 span Hollywood movies, indie films, avant-garde German photography and Karl Lagerfeld-era runway images — all culled from the early ‘80s.
The styles depicted dovetail with Kamali’s instincts and current personal penchant for wearing more pronounced, rounded shoulders, Spencer jackets and cropped leather bombers, pleated trousers and stronger, Guy Bourdin-esque colors.
She’s eased up on the free-flowing garments that are so typically Chloé, sensing the same shift in the fashion mood that compelled Lagerfeld to sketch a coat with an inverted triangle shape that signaled a new era of power dressing.
“Variety,” a 1983 indie film by Bette Gordon that Kamali recently rewatched, similarly exemplifies a shift in the sociology of women in film, when “she becomes the subject and controls the narrative,” the designer related during a preview.
Kamali ruminated on all of that, yielding a more streamlined, structured collection that elaborated on the don’t-mess-with-me shoulders she debuted on the runway for fall 2025, showing different facets of the Chloé girl.
Her blouses and sweaters for resort also incorporate pronounced shoulder padding, while still telegraphing the fluid, feminine spirit of the brand via silky fabrics, polka dots and floral prints.
Like most collections labeled resort or spring and delivered in November, the collection skews wintry in palette and styles, incorporating shearling chubbies, woolen peacoats and puffer styles in squishy plongé leather.
Kamali also eased up on the size and scale of charms dangling from her bags, including a fetching take on the bowling shape and some industrial-strength clogs that fit the retro mood. She conscripted photographer Johnny Dufort for the look book shoot, which mirrors her mood board’s cinematic leanings.
