Chanel’s Haute Couture Director Christelle Kocher Joins in Jelenew: Redefining Athletic Couture

Avant-garde, visionary and somehow traditional is the style of the designer Christelle Kocher. Her talent resides in her ability to honor the past by preserving the heritage, while looking at the future by adapting to the needs and applying new techniques.

After graduating from Central Saint Martins, Kocher embarked on a journey through prestigious fashion houses such as Bottega Veneta, Dries Van Noten, Chloé, and Martine Sitbon, where she learned the art and craft of a creator and a couturier. Her modern spirit found expression in Koché, a fashion label she launched in 2015. Koché defies conventions, blending styles and celebrating the richness of human creativity, a clear declaration of freedom and self-expression.

Her interest in craftsmanship and tradition took her to elevate her career into the realms of haute couture. In 2010, she became the Artistic Director at Maison Lemarié, a revered institution part of Chanel Métier d’Art, distinguished by its know-how and finesse. Maison Lemarié stands as one of the last bastions of plumassiers and florists worldwide. At the heart of Maison Lemarié, lies a love for technical precision, a passion for heritage, and the pride of bringing to life exquisite designs. Kocher’s work at Lemarié aims at modernizing ancient techniques while preserving their timeless essence.

In 2019, Kocher’s visionary work was recognized as she clinched the Andam Grand Prix, a testament to her unwavering commitment to pushing the boundaries of fashion.

With Christelle Kocher, traditional fashion becomes avant-garde, and classic becomes innovative. This is evidenced by her collaborations within the sportswear industry. With PUMA, Nike, AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain, Christelle Kocher created a wardrobe aimed at empowering women in sports and driving them to embrace athleticism and strength. With energetic yet poetic designs, Kocher’s creations encapsulated the beauty, precision, and subtle irreverence that define her aesthetics.

Jelenew brand was co-founded by legendary French rider Marion Clignet, a six-time UCI trophy in the championship worldwide. The brand is committed to provide comfortable and reliable equipment for female athletes and enthusiasts of racing sports. Compared with the popularity of flexibility sports and indoor training, racing sports, a game full of speed adventure and pursuit, is a sports system with an obvious male–tag label, and the attention to women has been even shallower. Until the past five years, gradually having the women’s racing events, and the organizations slowly begin to appear. Jelenew grew up in women’s racing, a desert full of exotic flowers of feminist . It constantly challenges the limits of craftsmanship and breaks through the design barriers of elastic fabrics and functional fabrics. Each piece of clothing forms a beautiful and warm place. The unique three-dimensional space of temperature-control, muscle-protection and comfort gives female athletes the greatest sense of security and supports them to complete their feathering again and again through outdoors, towards the mountains and forests, between rivers and castles.

With the addition of Christelle Kocher and her team, JELENEW has further developed a super engine, with Chanel’s high-end craftsmanship concepts and techniques, and tried to satisfy the aesthetic demands of female cycling enthusiasts to the greatest extent. Christelle Kocher developed invisible princess line, triple edged pleated ruffles and pleated sewing overlock. This is the latest venture into the sportswear, a journey into the realms of cycling, the beauty of Africa, the pursuit of freedom, and the eternal feminine urge to question one’s existence. Jelenew, a brand renowned for its commitment to empowering women through cycling, and Christelle Kocher unveil a collaboration that delves deep into concepts of independence, creating a wardrobe that is avant-garde and stylish, while performant and innovative.

Drawing inspiration from the memoir “West with the Night” by Beryl Markham, this collaboration transcends conventional boundaries, offering a narrative that resonates with the complexities of feminine identity and the pursuit of liberation. Christelle Kocher infuses her avant-garde aesthetic into the collaboration, where each garment reflects the fusion of athleticism and elegance.

With the Jelenew x Christelle Kocher collaboration, two worlds merge to create a new universe —one that embodies the spirit of adventure with the values of craftsmanship. The collection promises to transcend limitations and navigate a unique journey of design, merging high quality with technical prowess, craftsmanship, and avant-garde creation.