As part of winning the 2019 ANDAM grand prize last June, Christelle Kocher received two years of strategic mentorship from Renzo Rosso, president of OTB Group. By November, she had entered into a licensing agreement with OTB’s manufacturing subsidiary, Staff International. At this rate, it won’t be long before Koché becomes the next Stella McCartney. That’s just one example, of course. The point is, Kocher’s singular approach to colliding street, sport, and couture influences—plus the demographic inclusivity of this vision since day one—makes her brand very attractive in the eyes of many.
And things with OTB are happening fast. She presented this pre-collection from the company’s Paris office, plastering the showroom walls with photo prints of a Koché fanzine made up of athlete images, fashion photography from the ’30s, and brand affirmations. The looks riffed on all these themes and more. She proposed new versions of last season’s bias-cut lingerie and polo dresses: Some boasted graphic incrustations of sport jerseys, while others owed their fluid, bias constructions to Madeleine Vionnet’s bygone designs. The same jersey patterning and athletic piping could be found across the men’s looks (both on the outside and as lining), although the season’s most striking statement came from a classic blue Oxford cotton shirt with Swarovski embroideries glistening down the front. A little glitz goes a long way.
Kocher professed her love for basics, and relatively speaking, the ’80s pleated trousers, blousons with soccer ball contrast stitching, and a chic unlined trench all qualified. But they were deceptively simple and Kocher’s attention to detail was everywhere and deliberate. She also pointed out that just like her runway shows, the collections were displayed in a mixed manner and the models were street-casted. “You see them capturing these moments with grace,” she observed of the photos. It would appear she is doing the same.
