In May 1996, fashion editor and Pulitzer-Prize winning writer Robin Givhan wrote a Washington Post piece titled, “Plug Ugly.” She started her piece with “Ugly is In.” Givhan covered the quirky, bookish looks that Miuccia Prada brought to the otherwise steamy mid-nineties through her SS96 collection, “Banal Eccentricity.” Givhan says that greens “hovered somewhere between shades of slime and mold”. She shared descriptions of browns appearing on that runway, but no color seemed as divisive as chartreuse. At the time, it was up against stark black and white — which was abundant to find and easy to style. But “Banal Eccentricity” spoke to the moment and what it was lacking. This collection introduced richer colors, including browns, eggplant, and plum, but mostly, chartreuse, like the pistachio, neon, and yellow shades reminiscent of verdant liqueurs. By incorporating it into garments, you could say that Miuccia Prada was just ahead of the time.

Chartreuse has breezed through the decades in luxury collections and stirred up divisiveness. Take Yves Saint Laurent’s incorporation of the color sprinkled throughout collections from the sixties and seventies. Amber Valletta opened Tom Ford’s Gucci fall 1995 show with a slouchy chartreuse silk top underneath a matching coat. Nicole Kidman wore that epic chartreuse Dior dress designed by John Galiano to the Oscars in 1997. Generous splashes of the color appeared through knit tops, silk dresses, lace tights, and fur collars in Versace fall ready-to-wear 2019. And Kate Moss glided down the runway in a chartreuse set with belted waist and leather t-strap sandals in that Prada fall 95 show. It manages to electrify and is not easily forgotten.

Also, while this publication is not about the green liqueur distilled from 130 botanicals in the French alps, we see a throughline. Like the specialized skills of craftspeople who make couture possible, the centuries-old recipe made by Carthusian monks elevates the beverage. And the first documentation of the color name is derived from this mysterious spirit. But in fashion, pistachio-toned chartreuse captured my attention in youth, and it still does today. What we love never goes out of style — and if you dig a little deeper, there is often a captivating tale.

At Chartreuse, we are driven by rich storytelling that exists in fashion, art and culture. We are moved by seasonality and the tie that exists between visible style and the wearer’s inner world. And we’re captivated by sharing discoveries that, like the design choices in “Banal Eccentricity,” are ahead of their time or speak to culture in new ways.

We’re glad you’re here,

Catherine Gerdes

Editor-in-Chief