fashion: Koché, streetwear meets couture

How did Christelle Kocher found Koché? What is her contribution to contemporary fashion?


https://www.vogue.com.au/fashion/news/kochs-christelle-kocher-on-guest-designing-the-emilio-pucci-autumnwinter-2021-collection/image-gallery/d71cd50dd946ebc6d01845dbc09891e2

Christelle Kocher. the designer and the founder of Koché, also in parallel the artistic director of the craft house called Lemarié, which belongs to Chanel. born in France, in Strasbourg, in the east of France Fashion was always very like something she could watch and found very inspiring finding passion for drawing and art. Of Damien Hirst, Tracy Emin, or also the seventies feminist art movement like Louise Bourgeois, Sheila Hicks or people who also bring the craftwoman, who were using their craft, into their art, was also for her a passing message,  sport was very big part of my life.

she graduated from St Martin's School. Directly after St Martins, she got hired by Armani, and then started with Martin Sitbon as the first assistant. Then went to Chloé, managing all the "flou". After, she went to Dries Van Noten. she worked for  five years with Tomas Maier at Bottega Veneta, and at the same time started Lemarié.

All these experiences were very diverse really allowed her to have a 360-degree vision about what it is to be a designer. Not only the design, creating your own brand, having your own voice, being singular, unique, with a strong point of view with values that you want to defend. But also understanding a global market, be able to work with a structure, being able to work with budget, how to cope with the production, the pricing, the marketing, the communication, the image. Today, to be a designer is not only to design. For sure, be creative. But you need to think of all those aspects. she always wanted to have her own brand, because she felt she  could bring something new and fresh. brand, which has a foundation in the quality in the art, in the craft, in the couture, into the making, but also have an openness and bring the streetwear culture, the youth culture, the sportswear culture in together. But also, to have a brand which also could speak to everyone. Since the beginning,Koche has been mixing models famous, and also, people who inspire her, because maybe the artist, because she has  a strong personality, because she saw them in a party, or in the street. to try to have different kinds of people, different kinds of body shape, different kinds of gender. After presenting her first collection, she got a few buyers, and got directly accepted in the official calendar of Paris Fashion Week. she wanted again to bring something unique. So her first show happened to be in the Place Carrée, in Les Halles, outside the tube station. You were in a place very popular, but in the same time, in the heart historical of Paris. But it's also a place which is the center but opened door to the suburb. The brand also has been having a strong momentum lately, because we've been doing a few collaborations quite iconic. she also did Paris-Saint-Germain, the football iconic soccer club. with Nike, and with Converse, and with Pokemon.  soccer world was part of her childhood, part of her history, and football is one of the most popular sports in Europe. To associate with Paris-Saint-Germain was meaningful because that's the club of Paris. That's the club also which has the Eiffel Tower on their logo, The football, and the football world, with the couture world,  taking the jerseys and she  cut them, and  draped with them, and deconstructed them, mixing with French lace, mixing with cristal Swarovski, mixing with fazer, with really amazing craft, and also playing with the logo. Logo is part of this aesthetic and  to be playful about just like branding, in a very graphic way.  a lot of fashion, fashionista girls, starting to wear the jersey, worn by Beyonce, Rita Ora, and so many people in the street,  And from that, she  got approached by Nike to do a collaboration again on the soccer world, but for the women,  the soccer woman World Cup was  happening in Paris.