Paris, like many cities in the summer, is on edge. There are snarls of traffic clogging the streets; entire thoroughfares are closed. Inside the Chloé headquarters on Avenue Percier, however, a calmer mood pervades. Chemena Kamali opens the door to her office, revealing a long, curved couch, pink peonies in a vase, and a silver tray laid with tea. On the wall is an orderly grid of images: bathing suits designed by Karl Lagerfeld during his time at the fashion house, Mick Jagger, brastrap tan lines, a cigarette balanced between pouting lips. Kamali, 42, tall and slim, dressed in high-waist, wideleg Chloé jeans and a latte-colored blouse, welcomes me in.
With her deep-set eyes and Botticelli waves, Kamali is full of chatter about the weather, the mugs we’re sipping from,…