The setting for Christelle Kocher’s Spring show was L’Église Saint-Merry, a church in the Fourth Arrondissement that counts itself as not only the first in Paris to bring congregants of different religions together under one roof for services, but also as an advance supporter of gay marriage. Since Kocher’s arrival on the scene, the designer has made Paris’s melting pot a central part of her story. In the time since, fashion has undergone its own awakening; the runways are more diverse than they’ve ever been, but Kocher was a pioneer in this regard.
This season, she collaborated with a local Paris football team on the pieces that incorporated sports jerseys with the Emirates Airlines logo. Co-opting corporate branding is a well-worn concept by now—see DHL via Vetements—so kudos to Kocher for giving it renewed life. Who knew a football jersey cut on the bias could have such a nice drape? Her spliced-together dresses inset with fine Chantilly lace also displayed a keen color sense. The best pieces in this collection hewed to similarly sporty lines. Kocher tweaked and finessed rugby shirts to very cool effect last February; this time around she played with the striped polo shirt (which is Ralph Lauren territory, in case he’s listening), giving it an hourglass waist with seam details and, in one compelling case, adding a train.
Kocher has a couture background, so she also had shirtdresses and sheaths here for more delicate sensibilities; backstage she said she made a point of putting the accent on the feminine. While those pieces’ workmanship looked quite fine under the stained glass windows of Saint-Merry’s nave, Kocher’s sport hybrids are really what get her creative juices flowing. Manipulating and expanding on those ideas is where her potential lies. As of this season, she also makes a pretty great pair of pleated and color-blocked khakis.
