AN AMERICAN IN PARIS: Denim brand Levi’s made its couture week debut Monday with a intimate showcase for its collaboration with Christelle Kocher.
The designer, who is artistic director of Chanel-owned Maison Lemarié as well as running her own label Koché, reinterpreted classics from Levi’s using couture techniques including feathering, embroidery and sculptural details.
“They gave me carte blanche to create a dialog between French craftsmanship and exceptional couture and their iconic styles and raw materials to create something that’s never been done before,” Kocher explained.
The initiative, more than a year in the making, is part of a drive by the denim heavyweight to implement more locally relevant initiatives in key geographies as well as to court a VIP clientele, Mathilde Vaucheret, Levi’s vice president Europe marketing and brand experience, told WWD.
“We’re an American brand, but how do we translate that internationally?” she said. “The challenge was to premiumize thanks to Christelle and her know-how, and to go into haute couture, which is unknown territory for us,” she explained.
