Women who feverishly track Katie Holmes's street style could describe why they love her everyday outfits a million ways. She's "effortless" when she mixes business casual separates and Birkenstocks; she's "a blueprint" even in basics like a button-down and jeans. Ask Holmes to define what makes her style so aspirational, and she might just say it's the simplicity.
"I don't like to have a lot of stuff," Holmes tells me on a morning in early May, dressed in a casual T-shirt and baggy jeans with pair of wedge sandals peeking out from underneath. "I just like to be able to have pieces that I like and that are just normal, you know?"
We're standing in front of a rack that encapsulates exactly what Holmes likes and what's made her understated street style such a hit: T-shirts with slightly elongated sleeves, camisoles with lace detailing at the neckline, a chore jacket with a sweet striped fabric. They're all pieces from her collection with A.P.C., a French brand specializing in artful classics the actress says she's worn since the 1990s.
The dozen pieces Holmes created alongside A.P.C artistic director Judith Touitou are finally available today, Thursday, June 6. The pair describes the collection as a mix of French elegance and New York chic—in other words, two style modes that deploy universal staples in ineffably cool ways. (Prices begin at $165 for a '90s white tee and max out at $1,330 for a quilted coat; sizes run from XS to XL.) This collection also marks Holmes's first design venture since shutting down her clothing label Holmes & Yang in the mid-2000s.
Returning to the designer's chair, Holmes wanted her A.P.C. collection to feel like it didn't need too many extra embellishments or styling up. Like her street style, its appeal is in its straightforwardness. "You don't have to really wear anything over it or dress it up or anything," she says of the range.
Some items are re-editions of archival A.P.C. designs, like a pair of white Mary Janes with tiny cutouts that Holmes immediately gravitated toward. Others are the sorts of classics you can buy now and wear for decades—see those relaxed jeans or a Jackie Kennedy-inspired quilted coat. There are also some of-the-moment trends, like a resurgent wedge sandal silhouette in a crocodile-print leather.
While the bulk of the collection is grounded in Holmes-approved wardrobe staples, there are also a few sentimental moments. Three charms and a gold chain necklace to display them on were inspired by baubles Holmes found exploring a thrift market in Paris (where the campaign was photographed by Oliver Hadlee Pearch). A limited-edition quilt accompanying the clothing is inspired by a blanket Holmes's mother sewed.
Holmes isn't afraid to re-wear pieces she loves, and this collection is bound for just as much repeat-play in her wardrobe. "I just had fun because A.P.C. is so classic and I feel like you can wear the same thing every day in a different way," she says of the design process.
She pauses a moment, thinking about how to sum up her enviable style's latest form. Here's where she lands: "It's cool without being stuck up, for lack of a better word."
Katie Holmes x A.P.C. is available for purchase today, Thursday, June 6. This post has been updated with links to pieces to shop.
