The Parisian label’s show was held in the Rare Books Room of The Strand.
I took my seat at Kochés Pre-Fall 2018 show in the third-floor Rare Book Room of The Strand and was tickled to find a copy of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Kidnapped placed on my chair. Being kidnapped at Kochés show from the Rare Book Room would be a thrilling start to a movie! Accompanying the paperback book placed on each attendee chair was a black-and-white Koché zine that seemed an ode to New York — and to living large, in general.
Designer Christelle Kocher is a rising star from Paris, and this collection further proved that. A sort of anti-elitism is the theme of much of what Kocher does. Many of her shows are held in unexpected locations, from Folies Bergère to a Paris church, and her show at the Strand felt like a love letter in material form to New York City. The shapes, the materials, and Canal Street accessories (thick, gold hoops and chains) felt like walking around the Lower East Side. Stretchy leopard prints in reds, blacks, yellows, and blues, bodacious trench coats with fluffed-up shoulders, and a dancefloor-meets-streetwear ethos made this collection delightful to watch.
Afterward, the models snaked around the rows of chairs carrying books, one of the tallest models carrying Attack of the 50 Ft. Women against her jersey dress. It felt like a seamless transition walking out the Strand doors back out into Union Square, by Regal Cinemas and towards the train, exchanging one sidewalk disco playlist for another. It felt like I had just seen some inspirationally well-dressed New York kids walk by me, and it looked like they were having a lot of fun.
Photos courtesy of InDigital Images