The Future of Fashion: Chloe x Halle
Musical acts often come in the form of solo singers and music groups, but rarely we’ll see singing duos such as Outkast, Daft Punk and Aly and A.J. It’s been quite some time since we’ve seen a new duet come into popularity, but Chloe and Halle Bailey have been making a bid to become that duo for several years.
The sisters worked in a few minor acting roles before debuting their YouTube channel in 2011 as the newly branded Chloe x Halle. They spent time covering pop songs eventually leading to a guest spot on The Ellen Show, Disney show Austin & Ally, and receiving Radio Disney’s The Next Big Thing Award in 2012. Their rendition of Pretty Hurts was so viral that Beyoncé herself signed the sisters to her record label, Parkwood Entertainment, in 2015.
Since their big break, they made their professional debut with EP Sugar Symphony, opened for Obama’s keynote speech at the SXSW Music Festival, opened for Beyoncé’s Formation World Tour, and dropped a mixtape titled The Two of Us. Their real breakout as artists came in 2018 following the release of their debut studio album, The Kids Are Alright. They also opened for Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s On The Run II Tour alongside DJ Khaled and received two Grammy nominations. As their names have become more and more public, they’ve been attracting more attention via a starring role in The Little Mermaid Live!, a Super Bowl performance, acting roles in the series Grown-ish, and the release of their most recent album Ungodly Hour this year. We all know Beyoncé to be quite the style icon, so we can expect to see these girls turning looks left and right (of course with the assistance of Bey’s stylist, Zerina Akers).
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In conjunction with their album release, Chloe x Halle started making appearances in publications everywhere you looked. They appeared in POPSUGAR, where Chloe wore a Nanushka black trench coat, an emerald green Nina Ricci bodysuit with black trousers and a taupe pink Fendi trench coat. Halle wore a houndstooth midi dress, an oversized black Nina Ricci crewneck sweater with oversized sleeves and an oversized Maison Margiela outline shirt. For Teen Vogue, Chloe and Halle wore crystal-embellished Area — pink minidress and purple bodysuit respectively. The September issue of Vanity Fair features the sisters in Christopher John Rogers Fall Ready To Wear 2020 collection, Chloe wearing a powder blue bustier with a wrap and Halle wearing a metallic lime green cropped long sleeve shirt with puff sleeves and silk cargo capri pants.
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Their album, Ungodly Hour, draws on a black, skintight, latex aesthetic. They both are wearing black latex corset dresses on the cover of their album. For their Forgive Me music video, they sported all Zana Bayne latex and leather skirts, bras, belts, bustiers and chokers. The Do It music video saw them in black and white crystal-embellished Dion Lee bodysuit and dress paired with a blazer. They haven’t been able to perform live concerts, but that hasn’t stopped them from performing their new album. They did a send-off for the graduating class in collaboration with YouTube where they wore all-white Venus Prototype Latex dresses with Zana Bayne white leather caged accessories. They did a performance for the VMAs wearing Sho Konishi metallic gold custom bodysuits and gloves. The duo also had the privilege of performing for the U.S. Open on the court in custom skin-tight metallic silver latex pants by Delia Alleyne — Chloe wore a matching bikini topped with a sheer metallic blue, puffy-sleeved fabric tied to a bow across the chest, while Halle wore a matching metallic bralette and matching arm-length gloves.
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In keeping with the tennis theme, the sisters got the chance to appear in a campaign for the luxury brand Fendi. The ad highlighted Fendi’s peekaboo purses in an array of colors on a summer day playing on a tennis court, in a pool and at a dining table al fresco. Chloe and Halle both wore looks from the Fendi pre-fall 2020 collection — Chloe in a sheer, turquoise, prairie-style dress with tiered ruffles and balloon sleeves, while Halle wore the same dress in ivory white. Halle also wore a sky blue gingham jacket with a beige crochet knit crop top and quilted navy flare pants accessorized with a Fendi monogram belt. Chloe’s gingham jacket was in maroon paired with a black bralette and high-waisted shorts beneath and knee-length gray gingham boots. Their final looks for the campaign were Fendi monogram print, one-piecce swimsuits.
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2020 has brought a lot of fortune to the R&B duo amidst a rather unfortunate year. Their first venture into the spotlight this year came when their globally adored mentor, Beyoncé, sent them outfits from her Adidas collaboration, Ivy Park. The two were glowing in the plum athleisure dress, bodysuit, sweatpants and sneakers. In October, Bey pulled through again with a new collection in different earth tone shades. Bey turned to the new musical powerhouse to showcase the various biker shorts, leggings, strapped tops in various greens, reds and browns.
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The two made appearances at galas and benefits pursuing equality. First, they attended the NAACP Image Awards — Chloe wearing an asymmetrical, off-the-shoulder, black Balmain blazer dress, Halle wearing an all-white Sally LaPointe suit with pants cinched at the ankle. Though it was a virtual ceremony, the GLAAD organization had a socially distanced performance of Do It by Chloe x Halle. The performance was a tribute to The Spice Girls, with Chloe dressed as Scary Spice in custom green snakeskin print biker shorts, bralette, boots and floor-length robe from Venus Prototype Latex. Halle performed as Posh Spice in a custom gold metallic mini dress with matching arm band, also from Venus Prototype Latex.
I have seen the future of fashion. At the ages of 22 and 20 respectively, these young girls are at the helm of opportunity with so many prospects left to offer the world in music, acting and fashion. The future of fashion, indeed, is bright.
By: Ryán Salamo
Instagram: @astr0man74