Why Chloë Sevigny is not your ‘it girl’

Ever since she was snapped in denim dungarees on Sixth Avenue for Sassy magazine in the early ‘90s, Chloë Sevigny has been revered as the ultimate indie style icon, capturing the hearts of magazine editors, art house cinema-lovers and vintage thrifters alike. Almost three decades later, Sevigny has made a name for herself as a darling of independent cinema and TV, yet, despite boasting an impressive resume that branches across acting, modelling, designing, producing and directing, she is still best known for her recognisable personal style. And ever since she was dubbed by author Jay McInerney as “the coolest girl in the world” and an “it girl” in a 1994 New Yorker profile, the term has stuck—but is ‘it’ girl’ really all she is? 

It goes without saying that Sevigny’s signature style (defined by faded denims, band tees, sunglasses, leather jackets and mini dresses) is a touchstone for how to dress like you didn’t put too much effort in, all the while looking interesting and original, feminine yet boyish at once. But there’s so much more to Chloë Sevigny than her ability to make just about anything look cool. If I were feeling genial, I would offer the excuse that her eclectic style creates an outlet for her admirers to respond to. As one of the few celebrities who keeps her personal life private, preferring to give away little and maintain a devil-may-care attitude, what she wears and how she looks allows her fans to project a little of themselves onto her. 

In the past, the dialogue around Sevigny’s ‘look’ has often been driven by male reporters who pivot their interviews on what she’s wearing—especially if it can be deemed provocative. In the New Yorker piece, MacInerney refers to her “very short white dress”, her weight (110 pounds) and how she looks like a “skinny Jean Seberg”.  Meanwhile, a Rolling Stone article from 2003 introduces her as “slinkily dressed in a doily-thin pink dress”, moving on swiftly from a brief introduction of her latest filmography to divulge that she “toys a little with her spilling blond curls, occasionally cupping her right breast (apparently to make sure it’s still inside her thin pink dress).” Needless to say, the remainder of the article continues in a similar vein, snidely outlining everything the (male) writer deems either unladylike or unconventional or both, never veering far from that follacio scene in The Brown Bunny (2003). 

Sevigny has since discussed the difficulties of being a woman in the industry, disclosing her exhaustion with directors or producers and the power they have. In response, she has veered into writing and directing herself in recent years—in 2016, she wrote and directed Kitty, a dreamy immersive short about a young girl who turns into a cat. It’s success quickly led to Sevigny’s second short, Carmen (2017) produced by Miu Miu, and her third and most recent endeavour in direction, White Echo, was released earlier this year—another short which follows young women experimenting with a ouija board in search of supernatural spirits.  

In an increasingly sell-out Hollywood, there’s something refreshing about Sevigny’s refusal to take on work merely for commercial or career-advancing reasons—most famously turning down the role of Vivian Kensington in Legally Blonde (the role went to Selma Blair instead). Sevigny’s sincerity is inspiring in an era where it’s deemed pretty much the norm for celebrities to sell themselves out for commercial gain. While actors like Tom Hiddleston serve us breakfast in the ultimate ‘boyfriend experience’ in a Centrum commercial, Sevigny maintains her distance from the temptations of blockbuster fame and financial excess, preferring to choose roles instead based on who she would like to work with. Sevigny might epitomise the laid-back cool-girl we all want to be—the sort who has crops her hair, wears red lipstick, has excellent taste in music as well as knowing all the best vintage stores in town—but it’s time we left the tired one-dimensional ‘it girl’ label at the door and finally give her the credit she deserves. Because if Chloë Sevigny is anything it’s definitely not one-dimensional.