From PSG to AC

Christelle Kocher of Koché repeats a football fashion triumph

Christelle Kocher established her label Koché in 2015 and garnered worldwide media attention with her Spring 2018 collection for which she used football club Paris Saint-Germain jerseys and deconstructed, cut, reassembled and embellished them. Working closely with path breaking PSG director of brand diversification Fabien Allègre, the collection put the football club’s fashion ambition and the Alsatian designer on the map. PSG is now outfitted by Dior Men having left Hugo Boss. 

Koché S/S 2018 collection

Kocher also serves as artistic director of Maison Lemarié at Chanel and her prowess in feather-and flower making, pleating, and needlework, drawing on French craftsmanship passed down through generations might be the secret to her success. She understands Haute Couture and has become the go-to designer in the collaboration game having done collections for LVMH at Pucci, with Nike for the 2019 FIFA women’s World Cup or this new mega cool project with Puma and AC Milan.

Ever since she picked up the Andam Grand Prize in 2019, Kocher has been receiving advice from Renzo Rosso as part of the award, which led to Koché becoming part of the OTB group and prolonged stays in Italy. From the beginning, the brand channeled street wear and stands for values like openness, diversity, inclusivity of genders, body shapes and respect for social and geographical origins.

And what do we know about OTB chairman Renzo Rosso? He is a die-hard AC Milan fan for decades. The club is having a serious run for the Scudetto this year currently leading the Serie A table. As Koché is also fresh off a collab with Puma creative director Heiko Desens using Puma sneakers in the last runway show for Spring/Summer 2022 at the Shangri-La hotel in Paris and the German brand being the official outfitter of AC Milan, this new project came to fruition. To add another layer, this is a fully upcycled collection using deadstock from unsold AC Milan club merchandise and leftover fabrics and prints from Koché. Zeroing in on the rossonero color scheme of AC Milan, the collection looks and feels fresh in the tired arena of endless collabs. Kocher has become an unexpected football fashion cult designer. Let’s not forget, she collaborated with Sepp in 2018 for our exhibition at Pitti Uomo called Fanatic Feelings for which she created artisanal pieces from vintage national football jerseys on the occasion of the World Cup in Russia. 

Christelle Kocher at the Fanatic Feelings event

Fanatic Feelings Market

Images: Courtesy of NSS, AC Milan, Puma, and Koché