VELVET HEAT AND THE ETERNAL IT GIRL
Beauty, style, and an effortlessness that is captivating. Kate Moss, our modern-day factory girl, joined by fellow ’90s icon Chloë Sevigny, swims through the sun-bleached imagery of California. Directed by Gray Sorrenti and styled by Saint Laurent’s creative director Anthony Vaccarello, the Velvet Heat pre-collection film is a hazy, melancholy ode to Studio 54 glamour and Sunset Strip cool, where rock ’n’ roll excess meets faded elegance.
Kate, the quintessential London girl, rides the cool Los Angeles highways, natural, grounded, exactly where she’s meant to be. Chloë, her co-star and protector, appears first on the beach in an oversized structured coat, cradling Kate’s head like a mother shielding her child from the sun. Later, she transforms into a corporate powerhouse: slicked-back bun, heavy gold earrings, dressed in luxurious suiting, as she drives her wild child home from school, or the party that never ended.
Together, they evoke a kind of decadence: two muses who’ve lived it all and wear it lightly. Saint Laurent garments ripple around them, gliding as Kate always has, only this time, the runway is the Sunset Strip. The collection channels the glamour and extravagance of the 1970s refracted through a Californian lens. Kate’s ensemble, a lace silk top, leather jacket, and ruffled skirt, feels like memory made tactile. She’s as soft and sweet as her voice, as rock ’n’ roll as her past, as alluring as ever.
In one scene, Kate dances alone in a motel room, in a vibrant yellow dress, stockings, heels, spinning to the sound of a vinyl record. It reminded me of a time when I would carefully select the soundtrack for my pretend runway shows, as I played dress-up in my mother’s Sunday best as a child. Innocent, playful and free.
Later, she leans out over the side of the convertible, Chloë at the wheel, the sound of crashing waves blending with the delicate strum of an electric guitar.
Casting Kate and Chloë feels deliberate. Both cultural touchstones, who lend the film a sense of lived-in glamour – less performative, more of a recollection. What stayed with me was the mood: restrained, nostalgic, quietly electric.
“I’ve danced on rooftops with people I never called again. Kissed the ones I never really forgot. Even if I swore I did.” Kate’s narration, paired with flickering black-and-white film, is intimate and reflective, as we are reminded of Kate then and now. The eternal party girl. The eternal it girl. The eternal style icon.
Words Kathleen Halpin Video Velvet Heat by Anthony Vaccarello A film and poem by Mert Alas
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