Chloé presents its campaign for winter 2026. The duo Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin photographed it, the same pair celebrating forty years of joint work this year through their own retrospective at Kunstmuseum Den Haag in the Netherlands. Creative director Chemena Kamali built the campaign around three themes: devotion, expansive landscape, and craftsmanship.
Kamali described her vision this way. According to her, nature brings us back to instinct, freedom, and connection. Within that openness, femininity unfolds with untamed strength and a sense of togetherness.
A Landscape That’s More Than a Backdrop
The campaign captures models Raquel Zimmerman, Jacqui Louise, Thalita Ferreira, and Sarah Isaksen, moving through open landscape. Winter light, meanwhile, shifts the mood of each frame. The collection reveals itself through movement, then, rather than static poses.
Here, landscape doesn’t function as backdrop or destination for the house. Instead, it acts as an active force. It shapes every gesture and, at the same time, frames the entire collection.
Chemena Kamali Returns to Folklore on the Runway Too
The campaign also builds on the fall/winter 2026 collection, which Chloé presented in Paris. There, Kamali stepped away from the house’s signature ’80s energy. Instead, she returned to the bohemian spirit of the late 1960s.
In her own words, traditional costume and folkloric craft moved her deeply. She felt drawn, in fact, to the essence of making itself, the human touch, and the spirit of community. At a time when technology pushes us forward ever faster, Kamali therefore designed a winter wardrobe built on craft and storytelling, imperfections included.
Ladies of the Canyon
The collection also evokes the era of singers like Joni Mitchell and Carole King, both made famous by Laurel Canyon in Los Angeles. Mitchell lived there in the 1960s, within a community of women artists where creativity and free-wheeling ideas flourished. She even named her third studio album, from 1970, Ladies of the Canyon, as a portrait of this artistic sisterhood.
The energy of the Chloé show seemed to capture exactly what Mitchell and her circle of friends might have worn to one of their jam sessions. Billowy maxi skirts, ruffled collars, and folk-style embroidery carry that same spirit.
Embroidery as a Carrier of Story
Embroidery, moreover, stood among the show’s central details. Hand-stitching accompanied both knitted cardigans and airy blouses. According to Kamali, what moved her most about these pieces was the sheer amount of effort and time someone had poured into them.
The irregularities themselves, she says, are exactly what make these pieces so special. They’re the product of generations of skill and story, something no machine could ever replicate.
The Horse Belt as the Season’s Accessory
Among the accessories, belts fastened with horse-shaped buckles stood out, cinching leather trousers and slim silhouettes alike. Chloé regularly delivers one accessory that becomes the season’s It item. This time, it will likely be this exact belt, especially since 2026 marks the Year of the Horse on the Chinese calendar.
Familiar Faces in the Front Row
The show also drew a colorful cast of familiar faces, including actress Dree Hemingway and singer Olivia Rodrigo. Oprah Winfrey made a rare appearance too, someone who seldom turns up at fashion week. Alexa Chung and Nina Dobrev sat in the audience as well, both dressed in the season’s bohemian spirit.
Gaby Aghion and Karl Lagerfeld: Two Faces of One House
Gaby Aghion, born in Egypt, founded Chloé in 1952. She freed women from the formal fashion of her era by pioneering luxury ready-to-wear. She believed, above all, that women should dare to be themselves.
Less than a decade later, in 1966, young Karl Lagerfeld became Chloé’s creative director, though he had already worked for the house since 1963. He stayed until 1983. He later returned to Chloé once more, from 1992 to 1997. Altogether, he devoted nearly twenty-five years to the house. It was here that he built his reputation for light, feminine, airy silhouettes, a style that later became his signature at Chanel too. Chloé, then, functions as the place where two entirely different visions of femininity met: Aghion’s free-spirited bohemia and Lagerfeld’s refined lightness.
Chemena Kamali was born in Germany in 1981. She studied fashion at London’s Central Saint Martins under the mentorship of Professor Louise Wilson. Most of her career ties back to Chloé, including her time as Women’s Ready-to-Wear Design Director at Saint Laurent. She ultimately returned to Chloé as creative director in October 2023.
The winter 2026 collection will be available in Chloé boutiques and on Chloe.com starting September 2026.
