Apple Martin’s Official Ascent: The High-Fashion Arrival at Chloé’s SS27 Runway

It was a milestone that felt both inevitable and carefully orchestrated by the currents of modern fashion culture. The global style industry has maintained a steady, watchful gaze on Apple Martin ever since she stepped onto the red carpet for Marty Supreme alongside her mother, Gwyneth Paltrow, last December. For that high-profile appearance, Apple made a sartorial statement that immediately captured the imagination of fashion editors and vintage enthusiasts alike, wearing the exact black Calvin Klein gown that her mother had worn a quarter-century prior to the premiere of Emma in 1996. With a lineage that pairs Hollywood royalty with rock-and-roll pedigree—her father is Coldplay frontman Chris Martin—Apple emerged as the ultimate A-list nepo baby and the quintessential candidate for fashion’s favorite new "It Girl" designation. This morning, October 1, she officially clinched that coveted title by making her formal runway debut during the presentation of Chloé’s SS27 collection.

Having already established herself as a trusted muse to Chloé’s creative director, Chemena Kamali, Apple previously appeared in the brand’s À La Plage campaign earlier this summer. Walking in today’s runway show, therefore, served as the natural next step in a blossoming relationship between the rising star and the historic French fashion house. While neither of her high-profile parents were spotted among the front-row attendees, the seating arrangement was nonetheless packed with a formidable roster of familiar faces from the worlds of music, film, and style. The front row boasted an array of trendsetting figures including Alexa Chung, Emma Mackey, Camille Rowe, Natasha Lyonne, and Pixie Geldof. To capture the precise aesthetic of the guest list, one need only conjure the image of any effortlessly stylish woman sporting slightly bedraggled hair—the kind reliably spotted navigating the muddy fields of Glastonbury come rain or shine—and she was almost certainly present at today’s Chloé presentation.

Beyond the star-studded audience, the catwalk itself featured an all-star lineup that bridged generations of modeling royalty. Joining Apple Martin on the runway were legendary supermodels Eva Herzigová, Edie Campbell, Mona Tougaard, and Mariacarla Boscono. This formidable cohort drifted down the runway wrapped in an evocative array of garments that channeled a deeply romantic, nostalgic spirit: prairie dresses, sweeping bonnets, frilled, peasant-style blouses, coquettish frou-frou skirts, flared cut-offs, and frilled bloomers. Observing Kamali’s creations, the designer’s auditory influences are immediately palpable. Her work effortlessly conjures the atmosphere and aesthetic of the iconic women of Laurel Canyon, alongside the enduring spirit of Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty, and Creedence Clearwater Revival. In essence, if an artist could plausibly have performed on the legendary stage at Woodstock in 1969, Kamali is almost certainly an avid fan.

The German designer has now helmed Chloé for three years, a tenure during which she has grown progressively more bohemian with each successive collection. Her designs have proven themselves to be not only perfectly primed for the modern festival season, but uniquely tailored to capture the imagination of Gen Z women all around the world. A casual stroll through east London on any given day provides ample evidence of this cultural resonance, where at least a handful of young women can invariably be spotted wearing Chloé-inspired seventies garb: scalloped-edge bloomers paired with chunky brown boots, tasselled waistcoats, oversized statement belts, and tiny round sunglasses. In recent weeks, persistent rumors have begun circulating within the fashion industry suggesting that Kamali might not remain at the helm of the brand for much longer. Yet regardless of whether those whispers prove true, the undeniable echoes of her distinct bohemian vision will undoubtedly reverberate across the industry for a long while yet.