Coming together for the first time this season, Puma and Paris-based label Koché are celebrating women at the intersection of fashion and fitness with a collection that offers fresh take on empowered activewear and blurs the lines between performance and lifestyle.
Established by Central Saint Martins graduate Christelle Kocher in 2015, Koché has quickly become a mainstay in the fashion landscape. The brand is notorious for its unique DNA, based on traditional French know-how and craft, all of it updated through a distinctly modern take on fashion that fosters gender, body shape, social and geographical diversity.
For this collaboration, Christelle Kocher is leading the way, applying her couture knowledge to an activewear-oriented collection.
I am a fashion designer, but I am also a physically active woman. I started doing team sports at 8, competing in handball quite seriously until I was 18. Ever since, barely a day passes without me doing some form of physical exercise. I run, box and do yoga. So working with PUMA on this project gave me a unique, challenging opportunity to bring together my fashion expertise and the kind of technical elements necessary to good performance wear.
– Christelle Kocher
Daring and versatile, the collection’s design is inspired by timeless staples of feminine fashion, rendered exceptionally comfortable, lightweight and movement-friendly. Spanning 15 different styles, it focuses on body-shaping silhouettes made in recycled performance fabrics including polyester and polyamide, as well as organic cotton. A neo-futuristic palette combines sophisticated shades of black, burgundy, royal blue and cream with colour-shifting reflective treatments.
Elevated sports basics get a couture twist through construction and details: trousers and windbreaker jackets are completed with criss-crossed lacing elements. Tops mimic corsets through strategically placed stitching. Long-sleeve tulle tees bring a sense of delicateness to the silhouette. And leggings are decorated with an embossed lace-inspired motif. Accessories – including a spacious draped gym bag, a running waist bag and two different, classic-cut running shoes – complete the look.
With the PUMA family, we designed these clothes both to help improve performance in exercise and to use as elevated basics mixed with ready-to-wear pieces. Ultimately, though, the collection’s goal is to support women in reclaiming their rightful place in the sports space, and to help motivate them stay active at a time when women are standing out as the movers and shakers in the active industries worldwide.
– Christelle Kocher
