
Mother, the Los Angeles-based brand, has partnered with actress, comedian and “Saturday Night Live” star Chloe Fineman on a retro-inspired collection that was designed in partnership with her sister, artist Emma Fineman.
The Chloe x Mother capsule evokes the swinging spirit of the 1960s, taking cues from the sisters’ favorite vintage finds and the on-screen stars who defined the decade.
The 15-piece apparel and accessories collection, which goes on sale Thursday, gives a nod to European “It” girls and American style icons of the era. Among the looks are cigarette pants, A-line skirts and classic blue jeans. Bold shades of poppy and larkspur are featured in denim and recycled leather sets. Rounding out the capsule are a felt jockey hat and printed scarf.
An image from the Chloe Fineman x Mother campaign.
The collaboration has cheeky style names such as The Wingman in Emotional Baggage and The Mayday in Fly Me Out.
“I’ve been a huge Mother fan since their jeans first came on the market,” said Chloe Fineman, in a Zoom interview along with her sister Emma. “I remember going to Nordstrom in L.A. and being like, ‘Oh my god, finally ’70s-inspired jeans.’ My sister and I are huge fans of the ’60s and ’70s and I remember actually seeing a woman wearing the jeans and they just fit her body so perfectly. She looked so carefree. It was like the most aspirational jean moment. I bought like, four pairs and wore them to death, and I think I wore one of them to my ‘SNL’ [‘Saturday Night Live’] audition,” she said.
“My sister and I have had a dream forever to make a capsule collection together, and this sort of happened organically, and it was just the best meeting of things,” she said. Fineman said that she and her sister fought growing up, “but for some reason when we collaborate, we work beautifully together.”
Fineman said that she’s always wanted the perfect pair of vintage blue jeans, “and it’s been my full-time side hustle trying to find them.
“I couldn’t be more excited that I’ve achieved the best jeans I’ve ever worn with Mother. Full disclosure, my other full-time side hustle is borrowing my sister’s clothing — so I’m thrilled we solved that problem with a curated collection inspired by our favorite vintage finds over the years — aka things I steal from her closet.”
Emma Fineman added that the two of them have been “obsessed with borrowing and stealing each other’s clothes our entire lives.”
“We like the idea of making our favorite clothes, making the things that we would have loved to steal from each other,” said Emma Fineman. She said they’ve always enjoyed going vintage shopping, and showing each other things. “I would find really magical and amazing vintage prices at the Alameda flea market or places like that. And then Chloe would want to take them, and then I would go out of my way to find that exact vintage piece from another place, but I just wanted the original.”
“But then Mother came along and said, ‘Guess what? You can go find your favorite vintage piece and we’ll work with you to recreate that.’ And that was how the collection was born,” said Chloe Fineman.
Chloe Fineman said the shirt was designed from a favorite piece of hers, and the jeans were based on a vintage jean she had found which is a “true ’60s vintage blue.”
Discussing what type of jeans she likes, Chloe Fineman said, “One is like a Marilyn 501 Classic cuffed jean, which is so flattering. A lot of times when I go vintage denim shopping, there’s an extra thing of fabric in the front where it bunches. Getting to work with Mother who are denim experts and just have the most flattering jeans.…We also did a cigarette jean, which had an evening carefree vibe, in a black and blue.”
Emma Fineman learned how to make clothing with patterns as a child. “Our grandma taught us how to make things with patterns. Emma paid attention, I absolutely did not,” said Chloe Fineman.
Emma Fineman came up with the custom graphics and a signature monogram. Her handiwork is tucked into jacket linings, stitched onto knits and splashed across sheer Step Up stockings.
Some looks from the Chloe Fineman x Mother capsule.
Courtesy shot
An image from the Chloe Fineman x Mother capsule.
Courtesy shot
Tim Kaeding, creative director and cofounder of Mother, said, “Chloe is a dream collaborator — witty, hilarious, wildly creative and an effortlessly perfect match from the start. She and Emma had a clear vision: vintage with a twist, equal parts style and storytelling. Every detail came from a place of personality, humor and heart. We couldn’t have asked for a cooler, more creative duo.”
Lila Becker, president and cofounder of Mother Jeans, said they reached out to Chloe’s management and asked if she’d want to collaborate with them.”We were just fans and one of the lucky things is we’re Mother and have a brand so people will talk to us.” Becker said the process was “so smooth,” and Chloe has “such great ideas.”
Kaeding said Chloe and Emma came with “a whole color palette that was completely hers.”
While the Mother founders declined to give a sales projection, Becker said, “I think it’s going to be incredible. It’s super wearable, but fashionable, it’s very Chloe and Emma.”
“It’s very trendy as well,” Kaeding added. He said Chloe would come to the office with her dog, and they would have Emma, who is based in London, on Zoom. “They came in with their ideas. I came in with my ideas. They loved my ideas and I loved their ideas. Once we had the concept of the kind of ‘60s theme, it was pretty easy to put it all together,” Kaeding said.
There are four denim styles in the line, and one’s a skirt and one’s black.
Asked what type of jeans Chloe liked, Kaeding said, “She wanted very kind of straight, boyish looks.…We were going for Marilyn Monroe in the ’50s and ’60s, and she was kind of the original. We were inspired by that and we were also inspired by the French Riviera back in the ’60s and everyone’s wearing capri pants,” Kaeding said.
The founders said they anticipate Chloe will wear some of the looks on “SNL.”
“The brand does pop up on the show. We’ve had Dakota Johnson [wear Mother] and we’ve had many ‘SNL’ hosts and cast members wearing Mother,” Becker said. “Not just the jeans, but tops and sweaters,” added Kaeding. Chloe Fineman’s name will be on the label.
Asked how Mother benefits from the experience, Kaeding said, “I think it does so much for the brand. It gives us different audiences. It also allows us to design different things that we don’t already have in the line — different fits, different washes and different fabrics.”
Turning to current business, Becker said it’s going very well. “In the last two months, business is way up,” Kaeding added.
Earlier in the year, Mother lost its first store, which was three days away from opening in the Palisades, in the L.A. fires. They plan to open another store or two in the U.S. More than 95 percent of Mother denim and 90-plus percent of the overall manufacturing is made locally in Los Angeles utilizing imported materials.
An ad image from the Chloe Fineman x Mother capsule.
Courtesy shot
In the spirit of giving back, the Fineman sisters have selected the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation as the charitable partner for the capsule, honoring their cousin who is a firefighter and supporting those impacted by the California wildfires. Ten percent of net sales from the collaboration will support the LAFD Foundation’s mission to provide equipment and fund programs that help Los Angeles firefighters.
Overall the capsule retails from $35 to $375. The denim bottoms, including jeans and a skirt, retail from $238 to $258. The denim jacket is $375. Jean sizes go from 23 to 34.
The collection will be supported by a full social media rollout on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, along with wall postings in Los Angeles and New York. Chloe and Emma will also do a talk show video called “The Chloe Show,” where she’s the host and Emma is an invited guest.
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