The Unreachable point where ‘Ugly Works’

Despite a show that has had WWD, Vogue.co.uk and Style.com anticipation, surprisingly it has been difficult getting hold of the pictures from the Chloe Sevigny for Opening Ceremony presentation and I still haven’t seen the complete collection.  Papermag have a selection here and from them, I sort of suspect that the big style sites may have shirked away because the collection fell flat for them.  I’ll admit that perhaps I had built it up to be something better in my head but rethinking it and taking away the odd choice of models and presentation style, I can conclude that this is what I classify as ‘Ugly Works’.

‘Ugly Works’ – something that on first appearance just strikes most people as ugly and unflattering.  There is mostly nothing visually redeeming about it, at least not in the classical sense.  Yet for some reason, one a rare few, ‘Ugly Works’.   

This is probably a bit of a subjective thing seeing that what is considered ‘ugly looking’ can differ from person to person.  However, I think the general consensus on the Chloe Sevigny for Opening Ceremony collection will resonate in cries of ‘Eh?’ and ‘Ewwww!’.  The faded Laura Ashley-esque florals.  The high waisted gingham trousers.  The proportions of the mid-calf skirt.  The general haphazard way the clothes are put together.  I see inspirations from Chloe Sevigny’s role in the TV show ‘Big Love’ even though she herself has labelled her show wardrobe as hideous. 

The thing, is despite this consensus, I realised that the collection falls into ‘Ugly Works’ because for the Chloe Sevigny-esque people of the world, they could work these clothes and pull them off with perfect aplomb.  I’m not talking about taking a piece or two and mixing and matching them in a subtle contexualised way (nothing wrong with that of course…), but I’m talking about doing the whole shebang.  Making these outfits work on the whole. 

So it saddens me that I don’t unfortunately fall into that category of making ugly work.  I’m not sure what qualities these people need to posess but it goes along the lines of complete nochalence, total disregard for other people’s opinion, a quiet steely confidence and physically… well, a very slight body would be beneficial but Chloe S isn’t exactly a rail but there is something about her that can breathe life into clothes that most of us would reject.  It’s hard to pigeon hole those people who make ugly work for them but I definitely know that person when I see them.       

It isn’t that I’m so in love with the collection that I’m absolutely dying to be able to wear it.  The pointedly daggy qualities of the collection though for most would have them shuddering yet for the lucky few, would have them sauntering down to the Opening Ceremony store, sweeping up the collection and wearing the clothes with a whole lot of insouciance.   

14 comments

  1. Mmmm, not convinced. This just looks like a bunch of random thrift store finds. And if she deliberately chose her friends to model because they represent real people, then I can’t see any outstanding qualities at all because these people don’t suit any of these clothes, with exception of the last girl perhaps. I don’t even think Chloe could pull this stuff off.

  2. Yes, that’s right… the clothes DON’T suit the model… and its a criticism to Chloe that these clothes will only suit those rare few….
    This isn’t a rave review from me about the collection but more a musing on the collection being SO niche..

  3. I agree with DJM. There’s no hit-appeal, no sign of interesting, awe-inspiring detail, none of that avant-garde quality of Marc Jacobs or Prada whose collections so often look a bit odd on the catwalk but we all tend to fall for ca. two seasons later.
    Like the Kate Moss for Topshop collection, the clothes look like souvenir pieces – Chloe doing her first stint at fashion mag, Chloe doing Kids etc… Well, personally, I don’t find wearing someone else’s authobiography v appealing.
    It appears like the design/styling team have gone out of their way to achieve an ugly look to at least provoke a reaction.
    It really hurts writing this, because Chloe is one of my top style icons, and like Susie, I had high expectations for her collection. Mhh, I’m really at a loss what to make of this.

  5. Mmm, I dunno. If the only people who can pull this off are those with the steely confidence to do their own thing, then I guess they can buy this kind of shit from any old charity shop. There is nothing here that stands out, it’s just ugly and nasty for the sake of being ugly and nasty and provcative. It may have worked on paper but it’s just not that easy. These people should stick to their day jobs and let proper designers do what they have studied three years to do. Rant over – thanks for showing us the pics though!

  6. Disappointing…why buy “ugly” from Opening Ceremony when you can walk into any Salvation Army and get the same style for a couple of dollars? Badly presented, ill-fitting, not jolie-laide, just ugly. I don’t see this having much appeal to anyone except die-hard Chloe fans.

  7. i don’t think it’s so bad. i think it’s just confusing to the eye to see the clothes on non-models. we’re so used to that one shape. i agree a particular niche will carry this off fine. but for the non-niche i see individual pieces that are nice. and as a 1st go i think it will lead to a better 2nd try.

  8. I like the last outfit, but the rest are just..hmm. I don’t really dig the ‘ugly/ cool/ironic/’ vibe this collection seems to have.

  9. I had to double take on these, but the link confirmed for me that this infact Chloes work, definately unexpected. To me the models don’t show off the collection like I feel it needs to be. I could definately see pieces being used individual, but as a whole, for me, it’s a bit much.

  10. The issue with this is, very few people can pull this off even if you separate the pieces. Each piece has it’s own “ugliness” to it that you need and incredible sense of style and a strong personality to pull it off. The reason many of us go to fashion is to be transformed into a person that we yearn to be and those clothes don’t offer that. The reasn Chloe is so popular is that we wonder how she can oull off these “ugly” looks and those gorgeous red carpet looks at the same time because those looks are so far from each other on the fashion spectrum, it’s a shock that one woman can do both successfuly.

  11. I’ve done the pendulum swing of “don’t get her” to “ohhhhhhhhh, righhhhhhhhht” about Chloe Sevigny for years. I think I’m on the “ohhhhhhhhh, righhhhhhhhht” side now permanently.
    I often don’t like what she wears, but I like that she does it for herself and no one else. Plus, I love that she’s not all faked-up.

  12. Brilliant analysis, you’ve totally hit the nail on the head. You have switched a light on in my head, I think this is exactly what I try to do….though may fail, I suppose it’s up to the beholder really if they think it works or not.

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