It’s been on-dit in the City of Light for some time, but today Chloé announced the appointment of Natacha Ramsay-Levi as creative director. Ramsay-Levi succeeds Clare Waight Keller, who showed her final collection for the label during Paris Fashion Week. The position takes in both ready-to-wear and accessories, and Ramsay-Levi will start April 3 and present her first collection for spring ’18 in September.
“I am very proud to join a house founded by a woman to dress women,” said Ramsay-Levi in an official statement released by the house. “I want to create fashion that enhances the personality of the woman who wears it, fashion that creates a character and an attitude, without ever imposing a ‘look.’”
She also posted the unofficial version on Instagram complete with an emoji denoting gratitude.
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So who is this enigmatic brunette, and what does this mean for the house? Ramsay-Levi started out at Balenciaga in 2002, working alongside Nicholas Ghesquière before following him to Louis Vuitton. (Ghesquière shared this post just prior to the Vuitton show on Tuesday at The Louvre.)
A paid-up member of Paris’ cool crowd, Ramsay-Levi has a son with Purple magazine creative director Olivier Zahm. Her Instagram feed may provide further clues to her creative sensibilities. It has a decidedly urban edge, suggesting that she might take the fragrant Chloé girl to a darker, hipper place, where hair smells ever so slightly of cigarette smoke.
Ramsay-Levi also regularly posts images from her travels suggesting a more worldly attitude.
But then she throws us a William Eggleston-lensed curveball.
The real Natacha Ramsay-Levi will, no doubt, stand up in October.
