An Interview With Sportswear Designer Charli Cohen

Tomorrow is the official launch of London Fashion Week and what better way to celebrate then with a Q&A with Charli Cohen. Charli is a personal friend of mine so I can tell you that as well as being creative and driven, as you'd expect from the designer of her eponymous brand, she is also incredibly intelligent and sweet.

Her much anticipated SS16 collection will be shown on Sunday (details below) but in the meantime, get to know the girl behind the stunning collection...

You’re a lady of many talents, Charli! You’ve lots of impressive credentials and brands associated with your name, so for people who aren’t aware, could you please give a rundown?

I graduated as fashion design student of the year from Kingston university in 2012 and I'm also a certified personal trainer. The Charli Cohen brand really consolidated these two passions and fields of expertise.

I've always known this is what I was going to do - when I was 15 I set up my first fashion brand - a t-shirt label - which I ran for 4 years up until I started university - I thought a practice run would be the best way for me to gain experience in all areas of running my own fashion business before doing it on a much bigger scale.

Alongside Charli Cohen, I’m creative director of fashion at ADAY, an amazing active lifestyle brand and I’m also co-founder of That Girl with personal trainer to the stars, Christina Howells. I’ve also been involved in various collaborations, the most notable to date my Charli Cohen women and menswear range for 1Rebel earlier this year.

The topic on everyone’s lips at the moment is London Fashion Week. I’ve been lucky enough to have a sneak peek at the new collection (FYI, it’s INCREDIBLE!) but can you briefly describe what people can expect to see at your show this week? Where do you take inspiration from for your collections?

The inspiration this season came from comic book superheroes, which can be seen in the colours and design lines. The pieces also feature sleek bonded seams, perforation and laser cutting for some really cool textures and finishes. Guests will also get a preview of our brand new swimwear line, which I’m really excited about!

You’ve been posting little teaser posts on social media, branded ‘vitamin cc’. Can you give any insight as to what you’ve got brewing?

Not yet, but let’s just say that fans of our Dressed to Kale tee are going to need some Vitamin CC in their lives!

So with all these projects, what’s a typical day like for you?

People are often surprised at how much time I spend on the laptop, but admin is a pretty integral part of every day! Aside from that it depends what point we’re at in the season – anything from design and product development to days of back-to-back meetings to accounting!

What are the highs and lows of being your own boss?

Your business is your baby – the highs are the excitement and fulfilment of watching it grow, the lows are the impatience when it’s not moving as quickly as you’d like or have to single-handedly deal with setbacks.

I know that nutrition is really important to you. Could you explain a little about why this is?

Nutrition has been a huge interest of mine since I was a teen, but even more-so recently after being diagnosed with adrenal fatigue last year. To be able to manage the symptoms and to recover, I’ve had to pay much more attention to getting enough of certain vitamins and minerals in my diet and avoiding foods that put stress on the body.

What is your training regime like?

I train 4-5 times per week, mostly weight lifting with a bit of kickboxing thrown in. I also walk as much as I can during the day.

What is your ethos?

Optimise every moment of every day – whether that means work, play or rest.

You can catch Charli’s LFW show on Sunday 20th September at 4pm at SIX3NINE Covent Garden. Please contact rsvp@felicities.co.uk for further information.

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram for a behind-the-scenes peek at Charli's show on Sunday

The Charli Cohen AW15 collection is now available. Check the website for Charli Cohen stockists