PARIS — He gives colors quirky names like “depressed pistachio”; crafts small, 3-D dress shapes out of paper and Scotch tape, and shuns theater and drama on the runway in favor of real clothes.
And Paulo Melim Andersson, the new chief designer at Chloé, aims to keep the high-flying brand at the forefront of fashion with a strong, youthful focus while making it “possibly a bit edgy.”
The boyish, 34-year-old Swede was reluctant to give away specifics about his runway debut on Saturday, but said his fall collection was based on the idea of “a girl who steals from her mother. It’s a girl who has fun; lots of secret fun.” As an example, he related with a chuckle that his younger sister, Margareta, once “customized one of my mom’s furs. That wasn’t appreciated.”
In his first interview since joining Chloé last fall from Marni, Andersson displayed a decisive nature, a quick wit and a quirky sense of humor, while articulating his manifesto for the French fashion and leather goods firm.
“It’s not all about grooming and good taste. It’s all about effortless confidence, youthful nonchalance,” he told WWD between bites of licorice macaroons. “Chloé has a great age because it should always be young, with the attitude of a teenager, the nonchalance of a teenager.”
Andersson arrived at Chloé after two years of turbulence in the design department, beginning with the maternity leave of his predecessor, Phoebe Philo, followed by her resignation in January 2006 to spend more time with her family. In the interim, Chloé relied on its in-house design talent while it conducted a worldwide search.
Ralph Toledano, Chloé’s chairman and chief executive officer, said Andersson was already steering the brand sure-handedly with a design-intensive approach, as opposed to just styling or layering. “You can really see the sketch, the attitude. It’s sharper, clearer,” Toledano said. “He’s a really refined person: intelligent and cultured. This guy knows everything.”
Born on the island of Madeira, but raised mostly in Gothenberg, Andersson displayed a creative bent early on, and particularly an appreciation for volumes and small, technical details. “I was a Lego champion when I was little,” he related, which was no small feat, considering it is a Danish invention and he won the title in that country and in Sweden. At age seven, he earned the top prize for building an oil-drilling platform out of the little blocks.
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He still takes that meticulous, hands-on approach.
“I don’t just sketch. I work much more 3-D,” explained Andersson, who was dressed in an oatmeal V-neck sweater, low-slung jeans and sneakers. “I drape, and the most fun is in a fitting, when things can happen.”
He chose studies in Sweden, and later at the Sorbonne in Paris, to prepare him for a career in the art world. “I was probably going to go into sculpture,” he said. But he submitted an application to Central Saint Martins in London and was accepted without an interview, and followed that fashion degree with another from the Royal College of Art. He started working in the press office and atelier of Martin Margiela in 1995 while still a student, “but I didn’t do any design,” he pointed out.
Then, in 1999, Andersson accepted an offer from Marni designer Consuelo Castiglioni, and worked there behind the scenes as design director until last October, when Chloé came knocking. “I grew inside Marni. I learned a great deal,” he said. “[Consuelo] is a very sophisticated and very strong person.”
For all his trepidation about the glare of the fashion media — “I prefer the clothes to get attention,” he noted — Andersson clearly relishes the opportunity to be chief designer. “I can be bolder, maybe,” he said. “I’m working with my vision.”
The Chloé pre-fall collection was Andersson’s first design challenge, and he introduced colors like “potato skin” and offbeat names for each style, from the “Gorky skirt” and a print called “the last cry of Bucharest” to an ensemble internally referred to as “the Czechoslovakian au pair.”
Andersson said freedom — as expressed by Charlie fragrance ads from the Seventies — was a guiding idea in his first effort, and for Chloé in general.
“It’s not a fixed fashion that’s imposed on you,” he explained. “You pick the clothes you like and your personality is intact….The femininity and the woman-friendliness always have to be there for Chloé. It’s a brand for women. It’s not me being a male designer imposing. It has to be real: no drama, no theater. It has to work on the street.”
Andersson expressed admiration for Philo’s work for the house — “Phoebe was the right age. She did a fantastic job.” — and said the Chloé aesthetic would evolve under his leadership. “It’s just a tweaking of the taste, and that’s what I’m doing,” he said. “For me, Chloé is a blouse — effortless blouses.”
He said he considered preeminent the fact that Chloé’s roots were in ready-to-wear, not couture.
“It’s more Charlie,” he said, referring again to the iconic fragrance. “Yes, they have fantastic embroideries. They are at the couture level, but worn as you wear a T-shirt.”
Andersson noted he had a keen interest in leather goods and shoes, “which makes the silhouette light or heavy,” and he already has designed a bevy of bags for pre-fall with such names as Agnes, Vera and Petra.
Now settled in his new Paris apartment near the Pont Neuf, Andersson said he was excited to be back living in a major capital rich in culture and cinema. A film buff, he owns thousands of DVDs and also enjoys theater and reading “old literature,” George Eliot being a particular favorite. He also keeps apartments in London and Vienna, and said he was particularly fond of the latter city’s attitude and rich culture.
Andersson isn’t strictly an urbanite, however. He occasionally likes to steal away into wild nature, and recently acquired a taste for extreme northern climes, having already been to the North Pole.
“I travel with the Polar Institute as a paying guest,” he enthused.
In a separate interview, Toledano cited strong buyer reaction to Andersson’s pre-fall collection. “We exceeded our budgets in every single country,” he said. “It kept the Chloé DNA, but with a different interpretation. It’s my job to give [designers] the freedom to interpret that [Chloé] personality according to their personality and the times.
“If a brand does not evolve, it dies. On the other hand, if a brand changes too much, it can die,” he continued. “You will clearly see a change, but I want people always to be able to say, ‘This is Chloé.'”
Uncertainties in the design department haven’t slowed the company’s momentum. Chloé’s sales have quadrupled in the past two years, Toledano said, and he’s forecasting “strong double-digit growth” for the balance of 2007.
In the most recent quarter ended Dec. 31, parent Compagnie Financière Richemont said Chloé’s sales advanced 60 percent, a slower rate than the 100 percent growth in the first half due to difficult comps.
With design leadership settled, Toledano said he was focused on building the staff to prepare for Chloé’s next phase of development.
“What you want to avoid is a growth crisis,” he said. “We have to go to the next level.”
Key events in the year ahead will be the launch of a new fragrance in the second half of the year, entering the fine jewelry and watch category and ramping up the brand’s retail expansion, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. In the year ahead, Chloé will open 19 company-owned boutiques or shops-in-shops, plus about 25 franchises, including eight in China.
Next year, Chloé should have a wholesale-retail split of 50-50, Toledano noted.