"Cintre"

This dazzling sheath was presented in Lagerfeld’s last collection for Chloé after nineteen years as head designer (he later returned for a brief period between 1992 and 1997). Always shrewdly aware of the reflexive and symbolic potential of fashion, Lagerfeld conceived the garments as an homage to the needleworkers who produced them, a way of “paying his respects to the women who sew the clothes he and other designers envision.” Fittingly, the collection wittily synthesized the tools of the couture into surrealist accessories that were concocted from a humble vocabulary of tailor’s scissors, thimbles, pincushions, fabric swatches, and spools of thread. The garments furthered the dialogue, presenting a parody version of fashion in quotes, with techniques that included rendered trompe l’oeil “folds” of fabric and a dress within a dress, as is exquisitely embroidered here.