Koché pays homage to Japan with Pikachu collection

By

Kanako NISHIO

Published
Mar 23, 2019

Koché celebrated its return to Tokyo Fashion Week with a special collaboration with the upcoming Pokémon: Detective Pikachu film on Thursday. The runway show, which took place on a rooftop in the Japanese capital's Shibuya neighbourhood, was a bright and joyful event replete with eclectic sportswear looks elevated by couture details and a touch of kawaii that paid homage to Japanese culture. 
 

Right in the heart of Tokyo's most happening neighbourhood, Christelle Kocher unveiled a number of brand new pieces, mixing them with those already presented in Paris in February. The overall aesthetic was more youthful and streetwear-inspired than last month, a style that fits well with Tokyo's overriding vibe, with which the designer is more than familiar, having visited the Land of the Rising Sun several times over the last few years and made a runway presentation there in 2016. As for the cast, the brand sent out an announcement on social media a few days before the show, peopling the catwalk with models from the street. 
 
The first piece – a short patchwork dress featuring the word "TOKYO" – set the tone for a series of looks pieced together from football shirts and given a local twist by placing the names of the Japanese partners of each European team front and centre: Rakuten for FC Barcelona, Yokohama Tire for Chelsea. 

The final part of the show was dedicated to the most eagerly awaited collaboration of this season's Tokyo Fashion Week. The shift was signalled by a first look in bright yellow, an inescapable colour reference which was followed by a series of logo t-shirts and caps featuring images of Pikachu. The designer concluded the show with two surprising couture-like looks which incorporated a Pikachu silhouette into a lace dress and jacket. 

Claiming to have been a "big fan" of Pokémon since she was a child, Christelle Kocher sees her collaboration with this world-renowned mascot as a kind of common language capable of bringing together people of all ages and origins, in a similar fashion to sport. At the end of the show, the smiling designer took to the runway accompanied by a model carrying – what else? – a Pikachu plush.