How would you say farewell to an iconic brand after six years? Would you go backwards through all the seasons and revisit your favorite looks, or would you go forward as you always have; trusting what your heart tells you is most beautiful, most meaningful, most immediate and right now?

News broke last January that creative director Clare Waight Keller would be leaving the company. During her tenure, the Chloé girl has been a biker and a boho; she's been sporty and tender. And she's always had amazing bags. At the show this past Thursday, the crowd-all those real life Chloé girls, including Solange -represented that interplay of boyish cool and sweeping, woke-up-like-this finery.

Solange is a Chloé girl

And then there on the runway was an altogether new iteration. As the fashion press has positively noted, Clare did not review her past. She stepped ahead. Her final collection was largely inspired by Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love, but it was also about freedom and liberation.

We went into the showroom with Sahar Sokhandan and Lauren Zimmermann from the designer buying team to see how they'll bring this grande-but-grunge finale back to you.

"Clare is recognized for her fluid silhouettes and this iconic feminine, bohemian look," Sahar says after we meet up on Avenue Percier. "Our customers really love that." We discuss their favorites and catchup with where they're at in their process, and then the Chloé team joins in to tell us more about Clare's genre-hopping, mohair-and-lace mood for fall-as well as her escapism.

"The embroidery there is called 'Dreamland,'" one of them tells me, pointing to a babydoll dress. "And that pattern there is 'Wonderland.'" Like other designers this season, Clare layered in the idea of Utopia. A world where she'd like to be-where the '40s, '70s, and '90s intermix with bow-neck tops and big, cozy textures.

Ultimately though, the collection belongs to the real world. The British-born designer has rich and varied expertise in knitwear and menswear-and it shows up in boyfriend cardigans and loose but sexy trousers, which are shown, respectively, with lacy camisoles and blouses that the house calls "innocent." Many of the looks are meant to go from work to weekend and working lunch to cocktails, and if that doesn't quite fit your lifestyle there's a good chance that something like that is what you're aiming for.

There's a lot to take in-not just because it's Clare's last collection-so Sahar and Lauren do something pretty cool; they hold their cards. They complete part of the buy but then say they're going to hold off until they can confer with the men and women who work in our stores directly with our customers. Sahar says she is always thinking of them and their day-to-day interactions when she's here in Paris buying. They're the ones who know our customers best, she tells me; they know what women ask for and need.

Our team left the showroom with a fair amount of homework, but they'll finish it very soon-probably late at night in a hotel room. It's worth the extra effort though; heartfelt goodbyes always are.

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-Laura Cassidy