Koché
Sport De Luxe. Koché SS18
L’Église Saint-Merry, one of the most liberally oriented churches in Paris, was the show venue for Koché‘s spring-summer 2018 collection. But that’s not the first time when the brand chooses an extraordinary venue for their show – once it was an old passage, another time a huge city mall. Mostly places that don’t attract these fashionable Parisians, but certainly do breath with the ‘real’ Parisian air. But Koché isn’t just about unusual venues. Christelle Kocher‘s label rotates around the idea of twisting streetwear with couture sensibility – and her offer keeps on growing organically, from season to season. What’s new this time around from that emerging, talented designer? The most genuine idea of reusing football shirts and jerseys for a high fashion statement I’ve seen so far. Emirate Airlines logo and Chantilly lace were all there, in a spliced-together mid-length dress. Comparing to her last seasons, Kocher looks forward to more feminine silhouettes, adding more elegant gowns in geometrical silhouettes (the black one was especially very Cristobal Balenciaga) to her brand. Going new directions and experimenting is always a fine idea – but I think keeping true to Koché’s primary aesthetic sense is a good decision to take for the designer, as she progresses.
Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
Evolving. Koché Resort 2018
Although emerging designers prefer to stay away from pre-collections, Kristelle Kocher took the ambitious path. Ladies and Gentlemen, here’s the first ever resort collection coming from the Paris-based Koché. We’ve all got used to the label’s remote show venues (like vast public spaces of the French capital or Folies Bergères) that helped Kristelle build and envision her label’s street identity. Kocher’s pre-collection proves that Koché has its design codes that continue to evolve. The idea of streetwear with haute human touch is here for good. But it’s not about your average hoodies, oh no. Expect intricately embellished, yet loose (track)suits; fleecy sweaters made of different gauge yarns; feminine feather inserts and boas clashed with athletic jackets. The look-book is filled with white, black and electric shades of blue and coral red – you can choose toned or daring, according to your mood.
Collage by Edward Kanarecki (backdrop: ‘Raindrops’ installation by Urs Fischer).
Folies Bergère. Koché AW17
Folies Bergère is a Parisian music hall that remembers the moment Josephine Baker appeared on the scene ‘dressed’ in bananas only, playing her role of Fatou. A century later, Christelle Kocher taps this remarkable landmark as her autumn-winter 2017 show venue, opening a new, much more mature chapter of her brand. The atmosphere of the music hall significantly differed from previous Koché venues, which used to be much more into the streets and the least “fashion” districts of the city, while Folies Bergère, although forgotten by the Parisians, oozes with historic chic. And that was a quite well-considered background for the label’s neo-decadent clothes. Kocher continues her signature streetwear-meets-couture style, sending down a line of models wearing varsity jackets with intricate embroideries and feather trimmings. Sensual lace peeked out from beneath über-cool baseball shirts and loose shorts were treated with posh satin. This season, Koché is a go-to brand for dresses (in fuchsia, specifically), and not only. There were even heels in the show, the first time throughout the brand’s four season timeline. Progress is something the wave of new designers in Paris praise.
#2016 – Christelle Kocher
Seeing Lindsey Wixson walk down the crowdy alley in Parisian La Canopée isn’t a usual, everyday sight. And it’s even stranger, when you wonder whether it’s really her, or an interestingly dressed passer-by. Christelle Kocher, the designer behind Koché, is obsessed with elevating street wear, and she’s the only designer who literally takes her clothes to the streets. For autumn-winter 2016, she invited the fashion crowd to Passage du Prado, a home of cheap phone stores and cheesy hair-dressers; her spring-summer 2017 was seen by anyone who was running their errands in this gigantic, commercial spot.
Kocher’s latest outing was filled with her quite well recognisable signatures. She works at Maison Lemarié, a couture atelier specialising in feathers, so that’s why her off-the-street (or not) parkas and sweatshirts were all about excessive layers of ostrich plume. Velour sweatpants with a multi-coloured, zipped track jackets (my middle-school P.E. memories go posh) – a thing for dressing in anti-fashion way is intense here, too. Adwoa Aboah sported a not-your-average-cross-fit bra-top, while meticulously embroidered slip-dresses never looked so… effortless. I know this sounds cliché, but admit – Koché is a brand, which fuses the idea of “on-the-go” with minute attention to detail, close to haute couture level. The styling of the show felt absolutely spontaneous, and both the street-cast, and professional agency models seemed to enjoy the nature of this show.
It seems that Koché appeared on the industry’s mind just this year – so be sure to have this brand on your radar in 2017.
Koché SS17
Koché SS17
Koché SS17 & AW16
Design & Culture by Ed 