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How do you immortalize Chloë Sevigny, the perpetually coolest girl in New York? Easy. Put her on a T-shirt. That very garment is one of the standout pieces from her latest collaboration with the New York-based streetwear label Richardson. The collection is a flirty workwear dream, including a black canvas jacket, a pleated skirt in both black and white, and two tees (short- and long-sleeved) emblazoned with a black and white photograph of the actor as a euphoric, partying city kid.
Like all of her collaborations, Sevigny has known Andrew Richardson, his magazine, and label for quite some time. They hit it off when they met through the New York nightlife scene in 1995. “We’ve maintained a friendship over the years,” she says. “He was a stylist and kind of hung around with Mario Sorrenti, Glenn Luchford, and David Sims, and was part of that nineties boy group. Then of course he started the magazine, which to me was always really shocking and provocative. Then he started the streetwear line and I’ve always loved streetwear.” Sevigny has about 10 Richardson pieces, including a jacket by Jeanette Hayes and a plaid bomber jacket, but notes that there are probably more in her closet. “He sends me stuff,” she says. “So, I’m lucky.”
The collaboration came to fruition during the pandemic. Richardson approached Sevigny last summer, planting the seed that he wanted to work together. Last summer in Brooklyn, Sevigny was heading to some outdoor vintage sales, attended by, “the coolest of the cool kids in New York,” where she notes “everyone was wearing a piece of Richardson,” which gave her another reason to embark on the collaboration.
For the design, Sevigny was inspired by an array of influences, including Michael Jordan’s style in the documentary The Last Dance. “There were his basketball looks, like a tank top over a T-shirt and then like a camel coat on top of that,” says Sevigny. “I was very into his look.” She also credits designer Norma Kalami’s elevated riffs on sportswear. “I was thinking a lot about how Norma Kamali would do these [sportswear] interpretations. She used to do these boxing shorts out of T-shirt material,” says Sevigny. “So we were thinking about a kind of tennis-cheerleader dress that was a sporty look in a T-shirt material.” Sevigny also mentions that a lot of the pieces, like the canvas jacket, are washable, which is handy for her as a new mom. “I’ve been doing a lot of laundry lately,” she says.
As for the tees featuring her likeness, she believes the photograph was taken in 1999, based on her clothing. “I always wore that necklace and that Nantucket bracelet,” she says. “I remember I was wearing—who was the designer of Bjork’s swan dress? [ed. note: Marjan Pejoski] —tied around my waist.”
This isn’t the first time that Sevigny has been plastered on a T-shirt. While there are plenty of unofficial renditions on Redbubble, Sevigny has also collaborated with X-Girl and the streetwear label Fucking Awesome with shirts that show her face. But this image, taken by event photographer Rick Mackler, is significant and captures an unbridled era of fun. It has also been circulating around the internet for quite some time. “With the world of Instagram, that photo pops up a lot and a lot of people have turned it into a meme,” says Sevigny. “We felt like that photo really encapsulated kind of how people are feeling, or this desire for some sort of sense of abandonment or joy through dancing.” That’s a look that we can all get behind.
The collection will be available in the New York, Los Angeles, and Tokyo at Richardson stores on Saturday, August 21st and online at us.richardsonshop.com at 9am.
On Saturday, August 21st from 5pm to 7pm, Sevigny will be in-store at the New York Richardson shop on 325 Broome St. to sign purchases.
