We interviewed Chloe Neu, the founder of an emerging Women’s Ready-to-Wear brand, Cool Is A Construct. Since its March 2020 launch, the brand has already been worn by influential gals including Danielle Bernstein and Maddie Ziegler. All pieces are handmade ethically in New York. Not to mention, the Parisian inspired designs are so feminine and dreamy, you’ll fall in love immediately!

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I am a 21 year old college student from New York City. I currently attend the Fashion Institute of Technology. Before starting Cool Is A Construct, I was working in Fashion PR as an intern. Prior to that, I had many terrible and mind numbing internships in fashion and adjacent fields.

What inspired you to start Cool is a Construct?

Frankly, I was fed up with being an intern. I was incredibly bored and felt super devalued spending my days press clipping and sample trafficking. At FIT, I met so many amazing people who inspired me immensely. They ultimately helped me believe I could start my own clothing line, even though I had zero design experience.

What does “Cool is a Construct” mean to you?

For high school, I attended Riverdale Country School which has this amazing progressive, liberal education. Part of that education was understanding that a lot of things that we see as black and white are really “constructs,” for instance, gender and race. Getting back to the name “Cool Is A Construct” - in essence, what we think is “cool” is just socially constructed.

How do you balance studying at FIT and starting your own brand at the same time?

FIT’s schedule has actually been super beneficial to starting my own brand. Each class only meets once a week so I had a lot of free time on my hands. I used this time to create Cool Is A Construct. It is definitely hard sometimes to stay motivated with schoolwork when I am so passionate and interested in designing for Cool Is A Construct. While I do feel like I have learned more from making mistakes with Cool Is A Construct than I have in classes, I definitely feel like my FIT education has given me an amazing foundation to build on.

What fabrics do you use to produce each piece?

I use deadstock and vintage fabrics to produce each piece. In the beginning of launching Cool Is A Construct, I was only using vintage fabric. As we have grown, we require the ability to make greater quantities and have switched to creating our pieces using deadstock fabric.

Photo: Rachel Blair

Can you walk us through your manufacturing process?

All Cool Is A Construct pieces are made in Great Neck, New York by our seamstress, Cici, and her team of sewers. They are all paid an ethical wage.

Packaging is another element of sustainability that many fashion brands have started to address, can you tell us about the packaging of Cool Is A Construct?

In terms of packaging, our current packaging is recycled. However, we are working towards getting compostable packaging to ship our pieces in the future.

Where do you see the fashion industry going in the future regarding sustainability and ethical production?

I think that if consumers begin caring more about sustainable and ethical production and spend their money in ways that support these values, the fashion industry will have no choice but to make changes in order to be ethical and sustainable. I think a ton of brands already do have these values, but the question is whether large companies built on high profit margins will ever change their ways.

Lastly, do you have a favorite piece from Cool is a Construct?

The Jane dress is my go-to piece. I wear it with sneakers and feel put together with minimal effort. I have been going between wearing this dress and sweatpants all throughout quarantine.