Allez Paris Saint Koché

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Sep 26, 2017

Allez Paris Saint-Germain! They play Champions League football at home in their VIP-crowded stadium on Wednesday night. Koché made the team the star of her latest show Tuesday evening inside a soaring Gothic Church in the Marais.

Every second look featured the football team’s emblem or sponsor – Fly Emirates, by the way – or its Pacific blue jersey. Though always mixed up, morphed and reassembled into an avant garde statement of easy sportswear.
 
Koché has long been the cool insider brand to admire in Paris. Its designer Christelle Kocher has been shortlisted twice for the LVMH Prize, and one can see why after this irreverent show. Her greatest talent is a savvy understanding of fashion, so she can combine historical references with street style. Take her cunning crinoline, which was made out of scraps black and white jersey. While in her smart hands, a trench becomes a bold Gothic nun statement. She loves her own logo, but also has the guts to explode its proportions on mannish T-Shirts or minimize it with tiny slim belts.

But the heart of the matter was PSG, their Red away kit finished with fabric flowers and paired with crisp trousers; or home kit covered in tiny Swarovski crystals; or blended with swathes of lace, chiffon, jersey and cotton in fabulous and fun cocktail dresses, faintly reminiscent of Vionnet. Worn on a savage, multi-ethnic casting the collection was staged in the Church of Saint-Merry, a parish famed for its tolerance.
 
“What I love about Paris Saint-German is that they are so much more glamorous than any normal football team. They have this really chic image, and I loved that meeting with my own brand. We had an amazing collaboration with France’s most mythical team. An iconic club, especially when you think of the value of their sportswear business,” said the designer in the backstage sacristy.
 
Much more sculptural and feminine, but blended with a sport attitude, than her previous shows. A clever, unique tension that made for a great fashion statement. Especially if you happen to be a football nut.