Paulo Melim Andersson, you were misunderstood.
Paulo Melim Andersson's stint at Chloe was short lived (he was out after 3 collections) but his legacy still remains, IMO.
I’m kinda offended that the official biography for Chloe on Vogue excludes the mention of Paulo Melim Andersson, as if his stint at the house didn’t matter. This is a post that is a long time coming cause I have always thought that his designs were just simply that he was at the wrong house, at the wrong time. If you gave him something akin to Marni, he would have excelled with his designs. Simply put, Paulo was an amazing designer but he was just at the wrong house.
It’s 2006 and Phoebe Philo has just announced that she is stepping down from Chloe. Philo showed collections that imbued the spirit of the Chloe girl - think chunky wooden wedges, brocade dresses, crisp cottons with a warm muted palette that appealed to women. It’s everything you ever wanted in your wardrobe as every piece was so wearable. So when Paulo Melim Andersson debuted his first collection, it was confronting for everyone. He came from Marni so he brought his minimalist touch to the traditionally girly yet chic Chloe, shaking her up to the point that she was now edgy bit rock n’ roll and nothing we’ve ever seen from Chloe. I’m talking striking reds, blacks and chunky boots that reminded you of army combat boots. It was minimalistic, architectural and dimensional - like something you’d expect from more avant-garde brands but not Chloe.
I remember seeing this posted on the Livejournal community, runwaym… pretty much a gathering of teenage girls who loved fashion but didn’t have enough money to afford it so they just sat behind their computers, offering commentary of high fashion. LOL. Anyway, I remember the comments being extremely negative to Melim Andersson’s first outing for Chloe. Mostly being that the essence of Chloe was no longer there and that he was actually the wrong choice for the house. And I would agree with that - he was absolutely the wrong choice for Chloe BUT his designs were fucking impactful.
I guess he could sense that people were not happy so he toned down his next collection for Chloe, introducing a lighter palette with chifons and flowy dresses that apparently referenced 70s Lagerfeld Chloe archives… yet again, he couldn’t really shake off the architectural lens that he approached Chloe designs with. He gave things a textural element and never really leaned into the muted warmth palette that gave the Chloe girl that distinct personality.
His last collection was the FW2008 which saw him explore a darker palette of navies and blacks, but what was most striking was his use of chiffons paired with applique tights, printed floral tights and honestly, it showed that he had an incredible ability to create texture and dimensions. His direction was less tailored but more flowy, creating a effortless and ethereal approach to dressing that was contrasted with his angular shoe designs, creating that dichotomy of being just girly enough with an edge. Which I fucking LOVED.
In all honesty, when I saw this collection, I thought Melim Andersson had hit his stride. It was with a lot of sadness when I read about him being ousted from Chloe. I guess he wasn’t right for the label, but that doesn’t discount from the fact that he was an incredible designer. The crazy thing about these collections from nearly almost 17 years ago, still looks contemporary and they don’t look dated at all. His designs excelled in contrasting the soft with the hard, the light with the darkness, which certainly appealed to me. There are so many dimensions to your personality, so his contrast in building a look with softness but offset with some edginess was refreshing to see. It was multi-dimensional and you could have fun playing with textures.
The thing is, Paulo Melim Andersson’s influence of the house is still there. His legacy still exists, but I don’t think a lot of people know about him. The famed Susanna boots that he designed for a Pre-Fall collection have remained as an icon at the house - despite his apparent train-wreck of a run at Chloe. Those boots had me at a chokehold and I so wanted to buy knock-offs of those boots. I went to the UK in 2010/11 and that’s all I saw, knock-offs of Chloe Susanna boots. But somehow I never got them, until one year in 2016 when I saw them on sale at Chloe Hong Kong and I thought that was probably my sign to invest in them once and for all and get my favourite books forever.
I bought the white version of the boots, as those were on sale LMAO. But look at this masterpiece. It is truly a work of art. And to this day, I still wear them because they instantly elevate an outfit. I pair them with jeans and a blouse - it just somehow gives enough edge to my outfit which is what I want.
Paulo Melim Andersson was truly a designer that was at the wrong house at the wrong time. He would have fared better at a house that didn’t have such strong house codes but which would have appreciated his architectural approach, his mix of hard and softness and interplay of contrasts. That’s the artist he is.