Review: Koché Spring 2023 Collection

Long before the inspiration that guides the design aesthetic of a collection, designers already have who's wearing their clothes in mind. Who are they? Where are they going? Why are they wearing your clothes over the next designer? Those answers often remain at the foundation of a brand's inception and influence the guiding light for collections from season to season. In designer Christelle Kocher's case, her 2015 founded brand Koché was birthed from the ideas of "openness in fashion: diversity and inclusivity of genders, body shapes, social and geographical origins," according to the brand's website.

That leaves a lot of wiggle room to design within masculine and feminine binaries, culture spectrums with appreciation at the forefront, shapes and silhouettes traditionally and not traditionally created for different body times; this list can go on and on. For Spring 2023, Koché strayed away from their usages of lively colors for a darker color palette of black, brown, and grey that opened the show on asymmetric dresses and laser-cut bralette tops for the ladies, and color-blocked Canadian tuxedos for the fellas. There was fringe detailing, tons for sheer seperates, and illuminated embroideries.

It was an edgy stray away from Koché's pretty presentations from past seasons. Still, it's clear that Kocher's couture training and forward-thinking ideas on streetwear still shape her seasonal offerings, edgy or pretty. Now, do hoodies dream, or Nah?