#2016 – Christelle Kocher

December 21, 2016July 22, 2020 | Design & Culture by Ed

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 & AW16

In Kreuzberg

August 17, 2015August 17, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

A Berlin girl knows best – denim mini-skirt, graphic tank-top and a bike with a cute puppy. In Kreuzberg.

The look:

Mitte Evenings

August 14, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

Summer in Berlin. Photo taken in über-cool Mitte district.

Interview with This Is Not A Tie

August 4, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

François Guillaume is not a street-style photographer who seeks the most fancy, Instagram-worthy handbag in a person’s outfit. On his independent blog, This is Not a Tie, François presents his photographs of people through the lense of his Leica.

By looking at your photos, there is this very Parisian mood about them. In a way, your photos translate the amazing aura of Paris, but not in a literal way. Could you describe your feelings towards this city?

I didn’t grow in Paris, but in a really small town. I dreamed a lot about cities and Paris when I was a child. After my studies, I began to work there, it was 11 years ago… Even after struggling for years and walking its streets tirelessly, I still feel like a stranger in Paris. When I work on a manuscript (I’m a book publisher now) in some café, I enjoy the view, the constant agitation, the passerby, the noise, the grace, the lights and the dirt…

How is your street-style photography style different from all the others?

Well… The outfits are completely secondary for me. And “This is not a tie” is a personal project… I try to shoot something real, beautiful, funny, or powerful, well composed, or even blurry if it makes me feel something. In the end, it’s a lot like an exercise for me, and it’s liberating because I get to work oustide. To be honest, I don’t believe in “street-style photography” as a genre in itself, It feel it’s not that interesting. It’s more of a way to get a pass at shooting total strangers, when they ask “why do you take my picture ?”, You have the “street style” alibi, and it makes it OK every time. I remember the words of Robert Capa when he was talking to Cartier-Bresson : “Never say you do Surrealist Photography, they’ll never hire you ! Do what do you want but label it as photojournalism”. At this time, it was the best thing to say to be able to work, whatever your style really was.
Other than that, obviously, contrary to other photographers, I shoot only with analog cameras, most of the time with black and white Kodak TriX. I also allow myself to post a lot of out of focus and underexposed shots!

What do you search for in an outfit, person or a situation when you take a photo?

Sometimes I see a good background, with a beautiful light, an interesting pattern on the wall, a striking contrast, and I just wait for a character to pass by. It can take some time, but I’m kind of a patient guy. Every photographer want some life, a lot of action, dramatic gestures, but most of the time you’re stuck with a discreet movement, a fading shifty look, people simply walking or looking at their phones. But even in these moments, you can sometimes find something worthy of a shot.

When you take a photo of a person, what makes you want to photograph him or her? Is it an impulse or something further?

It’s sad you cannot stop a stranger in the street, a man or women, a kid or and old grand-pa, and tell him you find him or her beautiful. Taking a pictures of them is my direct way of telling them I find them radiant or graceful or stunning.

Could you tell me about your personal style, “finds” that you were, want or collect?

This week I have bought a red Filson trucker hat, a vintage Batman T-shirt with a drawing of Gene Colan, looked up a black or grey Arc’teryx Veilance jacket, and stole a book from my wife (The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov, I bought a copy 14 years ago but I loaned it to a friend who ended up killing himself. As you might imagine, I never asked for the book back, even if the irony might have made him laugh in his tomb)… And I also want to buy new running shoes for my weekly 45 kilometers, but I’m too broke for that right now… Wanting to buy sneakers and having an empty wallet, It’s like being 15 years-old again! In a way, it’s absurd and that’s a good feeling.

More of François’ photography on thisisnotatie.com

To Meadham Kirchhoff

December 20, 2014June 15, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

I need to confess something. When I heard the news, that Meadham Kirchhoff won’t show it’s AW15 collections becaues their “debts have caught up”, I nearly started to cry. That might surprise you- right, I never really wrote anything special about Meadham Kirchhoff. On my blog, I post only this what I like and feel- and Meandham Kirchhoff’s style is not always on my taste radar. But I always, always observe their collections with some kind of amusement and respect. They were, and are, so brave. In the sea of minimalism, normcore or 10,000 euro Valentino dresses, it’s hard to have a label with clothes which do not match any of those three categories. Well, only if you are some kind of Versace. In reality, Kirchhoff’s pieces are pricey, but they are as beautifully embroidered, as for example Erdem. Then, another problem strikes. “The way the industry works, you’re driven to do all these grandiose shows, all these things that are incredibly expensive,” Benjamin Kirchhoff said. “and then one day, the sponsorship runs out. You’re on your own.” Meanwhile, Edward Meadham pointed to the struggle to fulfill orders for stockists: “It’s always seemed like, ‘How do we do this? How do we keep up?’” In other words, Meadham Kirchhoff didn’t have trouble until they became an REALLY independent label.

But what’s interesting, is the fact that Meadham Kirchhoff is seriously loved by Londoners. They are so true, real. I think it is the last big something after Vivienne Westwood’s SEX shop and Alexander McQueen years in London. It’s punk, it’s cool, it’s something buzzy and fuzzy. The glitter jumble; the ribbons attached to every pair of boots; the tampon tree at SS15 show venue. Kitsch is sick, but in both meanings at Meadham Kirchhoff. Well, what can I say more. I just wish them a bright future (and this type of talent always finds it’s right path). The rumour has it, that possibly Benjamin and Edward are going to takeover Schiapparelli which was suddenly abandoned by Marco Zanini. And that would be EPIC. I also see them at Oscar del la Renta, if not that boring Nina Ricci guy.