Chloë Sevigny and Her 90s It Girl Style

“I don’t buy high fashion, I buy vintage”  Chloë Sevigny

Actress, designer, model and film maker Chloë Sevigny has many titles under her belt sincestarting her career aged 17. Always praised for her ability to effortlessly style herself, Chloe was once dubbed the ‘coolest girl in the world’. Looking back on her most iconic moments in fashion, IRVRSBL fell in love with Sevigny's style all over again.

Scouted to begin modelling by Andrea Linett, a stylist for Sassy Magazine at aged 17, Sevigny found her first role in fashion in her teens. Just several years later, Chloë was cast to star in the latest Sonic Youth music video; the iconic video that was shot in Marc Jacob’s showroom (something the designer agreed to despite having no idea who Sonic Youth were). At the time, Sevigny was working for Liquid Sky, a trendy New York based store and shortly after she was cast to star in Kids, a controversial coming-of-age 90’s film that rocketed her to fame. During this time, Sevigny was often head to toe in thrifted pieces, always one step ahead of the trends and never wanting to look like anybody else. During an interview with The New York Times back in the 90’s, Sevigny was approached by two girls who asked where her jelly sandals were from. After telling them, the pair practically ran off to buy the same ones. Later the same day, Chloë bought herself new shoes. 

It wasn’t until 2003 that Chloë first dabbled in fashion design, working as creative director for Tara Subkoff’s brand ‘Imitation of Christ’. Imitation of Christ, a sustainable, anti-fashion upcycling brand, was ahead of the times, launching back when the world ignored the words ‘carbon footprint’. The ethos of the brand has always aligned with Chloë’s beliefs and her debut collection was a roaring success. The brand recently came back onto the scene after a 7- year hiatus, re-issuing its old designs from 2002 and still crafting from leftover material, championing sustainability. The same year that Chloë started at Imitation of Christ, she chipped her front teeth playfighting in a pair of Balenciaga boots, designed by Nicholas Ghesquière.

In 2008, Chloë found herself collaborating with New York brand, Opening Ceremony. Chloë designed the collection to appeal to ‘any kind of girl’, creating interchangeable pieces featuring gingham prints, liberty florals and preppy stripes. The collection was captured by photographer Mark Borthwick who also shot Chloë’s first cover for well known fashion magazine, Purple and her iconic 1996 Self Service magazine cover. Chloë continued to design multiple collections for OC, her most recent being a vintage, Japanese inspired collection in 2019, focused mostly on denim. Of the collections, Chloë has said she only wants to design pieces that her and her friends would want to wear in real life.

Throughout Chloë’s rich career she has modelled for luxury designers such as Louis Vuitton and Miu Miu. The model’s Miu Miu campaign was shot by Juergen Teller for their Spring Summer collection in 1996. Sevigny has worked alongside other well known photographers such as Terry Richardson who captured her for the cover of Purple magazine in 2010. As a part of Purple magazine issue number 5 Chloë Sevigny was seen modelling Maison Margiela’s Spring Summer 2000 collection in a photographic series. The Margiela collection worn by Sevigny featured a mix of men’s and women’s garments such as shirts, trench coats, sweaters and dresses that had all had their original shape transformed to size 74 by hand. These largely oversized garments are worn by Sevigny and the images are captured by Mark Borthwick.

Starring as a cover girl for magazines from Dazed and Confused and L’Officiel to Vogue and Elle, Sevigny’s success in the fashion industry hasn’t once slowed down since it started. Constantly questioned on her style and copied by fashion’s It-girls, Chloë has always shared that she has a great love for thrifting. Although many other favourite pieces in her wardrobe are either thrifted vintage or straight from the set of a movie she worked on, Sevigny still adores luxury brands like Prada, Comme Des Garçons, Opening Ceremony (of course), Maison Margiela (all she wanted for her 18th birthday was a pair of Margiela Tabi boots) and Jean-Paul Gaultier. 

Shop a curated selection of luxury designer vintage pieces online at Irvrsbl.