Exclusive: Clare Waight Keller On What Makes A See By Chloe Girl

To celebrate the first See by Chloe collection under the creative direction of Clare Waight Keller, the French house have shot a special campaign featuring portraits of 20 new faces who all represent the architypal See by Chloe girl. There is a special twist, as these Chloe girls were found via street castings. We spoke to Clare Waight Keller to find out more about her Chloe girl...

Grazia Daily: What was your idea for the See by Chloe campaign?

Clare: "One of the concepts I wanted to really address with See by Chloe was who the girl was, and part of that is me wanting to resonate with who that girl is today. I just think there’s so many interesting girls on the street, so the idea is bringing that real, honest spirit into the See by Chloe line. There is a younger spirit, a bit more crazy, and that’s why you’ve got one girl with pink hair and another girl who’s got funny glasses."

Grazia Daily: Why did you decide to do a street casting?

Clare: "Obviously the Chloe girl that we really represent on the main line has always been much more about the international, very beautiful, quintessentially European girl. I wanted something that felt a little more eclectic, and so the brief was to find interesting girls who are doing interesting things in their careers. Some of them are bloggers, some of them are lawyers, some of them are in music – and I think that represents who See by Chloe is. There’s a personality that comes through with the way they dress. We literally had a rack of clothes there and we just said come and look through – 'what would you pick, how would you put it on.' It was a really playful exercise in really putting things together the way a girl would wear it today."

**Grazia Daily: How do you see the difference between Chloe and See by Chloe?

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Clare: "I think the difference between the lines is the more useful approach to the clothing. We have much more of a mix of fabrics and prints – it’s much more playful - it’s a younger kind of styling. It has a vibe that’s a bit more street let’s say than the more sophisticated Chloe girl. But in essence there is that poetry between the two. There is this femininity, a real zest for being quite relaxed but at the same time incredibly elegant."

Grazia Daily: Who are the Chloe girls now?

Clare: "There are so many girls that really love wearing the brand. We don’t really contact people - these are real girls who come to us because they love the collection. I think that’s a very important part of the essence of Chloe. It’s not a paid contract, it’s really someone who adores the collection and the spirit of Chloe."

Grazia Daily: Obviously there are a lot of iconic Chloe girls - do you ever reference them with your work?

**Clare: **"There are great links to classic girls from the past, and they do touch on that occasionally. Every season there’s a person or several girls that I’m looking at in terms of the feel. But I always want it to feel very modern and contemporary. Even if there’s been periods when I might reach out and pull pictures from Jane Birkin, or Joni Mitchell, or Ali McGraw – all the icons you can think of from the Seventies – but then there’s also Debbie Harry from the 80s. It’s a real mix. The spirit of them is that they’re all independent, incredibly confident, vivacious kind of girls with a sense of themselves and they’re not really fashion-chasing. They have a great sense of style and that’s what Chloe is about."

*** See the campaign in the gallery below...***