Christelle Kocher served up a potpourri of couture techniques and fabrics boldly mixed with streetwear silhouettes. The designer used her knowledge acquired at feather and flower specialist Maison Lemarié (owned by Chanel), where she is artistic director, to conjure romantic, ruffled shirts in chiffon, which she paired with loose basketball shorts.
Elsewhere, an oversize denim bomber jacket was embroidered with scraps of tulle resulting in a handsome camouflage pattern, while a sports bra festooned with colorful sequins proved a viable companion for a slick black tuxedo jacket and a pair of nylon sweatpants.
It took the eye a little getting used to these unusual combos, but by the time the evening looks appeared, the angst vanished and desire kicked in. Cue body-hugging tank tops and tennis dresses richly hand-crocheted with rows of tulle, chiffon, lace, plastic, feathers, beads and sequins for — as Kocher called it — “a couture melting pot.” No coincidence then that the show took place in the middle of Les Halles, Paris’ inner-city mall. “I wanted to open my show to the public, and this place is perfect — a junction between suburbia and culture, two steps away from the Louvre. All cultures mix. Because the last thing I want is for fashion to be elitist,” she said, sporting the first items from her debut jewelry collection with silversmith Goossens, another Paris specialty atelier controlled by Chanel. “Big,big, big,” she gave as the motto for her giant, Gothic-tinged rings, cuffs and earpieces.