Sunny Australian charm meets Berlin cool: Cheyenne Tulsa and Marcel Porcher are a dream team both personally and professionally. With Cotiere, they’ve founded a brand that reflects this stylish, laid-back vibe. In this interview, the two reveal whether they still experience German-Australian culture shocks, how they influence each other’s fashion styles, and where Cotiere is headed next.
FACES: Cheyenne, you’re originally from Australia. What has been the biggest culture shock you’ve experienced in Berlin so far?
Cheyenne Tulsa: The biggest culture shock I still experience in Berlin is how blunt and direct Germans are. That’s what they call the “Berlin attitude.” I’m still getting used to that—and to the weather. As an Australian, the Berlin winter is and always will be a shock.
Q: Marcel, what aspect of Berlin has most strongly shaped your view of style and aesthetics?
Marcel Porcher: One of the most important aspects of fashion is the freedom to be yourself, and I think Berlin embodies exactly that. There’s room for everyone here. It’s precisely this openness that influences my view of style and aesthetics.
Q: And what was the most unexpected culture shock you both experienced in relation to each other?
CT: We may have different backgrounds, but we’re very similar in our own way, so I didn’t experience much of a culture shock with Marcel—except that airing out the house is a serious matter for him and that we sometimes have funny language misunderstandings.
MP: Yeah, the mix of English and German can be pretty interesting. Cheyenne also always looks inside her shoes before putting them on. Then I have to remind her that there aren’t any poisonous spiders in Germany.
Q: Do you have any favorite spots or tips for Berlin that you’d like to share with us?
CT: Mimi’s is a real gem of a shop for beautiful and unique vintage pieces. At Ari’s, you’ll find a modern take on diner cuisine with a Latin American twist. The atmosphere is great and the sandwiches are fantastic. At La Lupa, you’ll find classic pasta and Roman-style dishes. For us, it’s one of the best authentic Italian restaurants in the city. You can find good coffee at Early Bird, Acid Cafe, and Passenger. Marcel can’t tolerate gluten, so Partenope 081 is our favorite spot for a delicious Neapolitan-style gluten-free pizza. Aera is a must-visit for anyone looking for a gluten-free bakery. And last but not least, Heideglühen—if you want to throw a really great outdoor party in the summer.
“The biggest culture shock I still experience in Berlin is how blunt and direct Germans are.”
F: You founded your clothing label, Cotiere, together. What words best describe the brand, and how do you want it to be perceived?
CT: We wanted the brand to be timeless, versatile, and crafted to a high standard. We’re currently working on a relaunch, so the way we want Cotiere to be perceived will also change. However, our love for craftsmanship will always remain, as will our goal of creating a space where everyone feels represented, confident, and sexy.
Q: What kind of people do you want to attract—in the truest sense of the word—with Cotiere?
CT: We’ve seen surfers, skateboarders, DJs, actors, and even students on the street, all wearing our clothes. It was so cool to see how Cotiere fits into their lives and personal styles. This highlights the versatility of our pieces and reinforces our belief that fashion is for everyone, regardless of background, personal style, body type, or lifestyle.
Q: How much of Australia and how much of Germany is there in Cotiere?
CT: There’s a very laid-back atmosphere in Australia. We like to dress up, but we feel just as comfortable barefoot. This laid-back attitude has strongly shaped Cotiere and our first campaign. We wanted our clothes to have a down-to-earth feel and not take themselves too seriously. That reflects who Marcel and I are.
MP: Germany isn’t as much of a focus at Cotiere. As a kid growing up in Germany, I was a professional skateboarder, and style played a huge role in the skateboarding scene. There’s a scene in a skate film called “The End” where Heath Kirchart and Jeremy Klein are skateboarding in suits. That scene had a significant influence on my vision for Cotiere’s first collection, especially our oversized pinstripe suit.
Q: What’s next for Cotiere?
CT: About a year ago, we decided to take a break from Cotiere. We became parents for the first time just four weeks after launching Cotiere and had to take some time off to juggle everything. During that time, we realized that some internal changes were necessary to secure the brand’s long-term future—so the break turned out to be a real stroke of luck. Marcel will continue to manage the business side, but that means I now have full creative control. I’m preparing a relaunch focused on a more conscious, long-term vision. New energy, a new story, a new style, and even a new name that feels even more authentic this time around. I’m just starting to collaborate with some fantastic artisans to design our new collection, which will focus exclusively on women’s fashion—specifically handbags, outerwear, and accessories. In addition to fashion, I’m also looking forward to exploring other projects in the art and music scenes that I’d previously put on hold. I think this fits well with my future plans and allows me to be creative in different ways. Over the next few years, I hope that Cotiere 2.0 will become a household name in the fashion industry.
“I try to keep my content as authentic as possible, because that makes social media much more fun.”
Q: Which is harder: balancing a romantic relationship with your career, or balancing family life with your career?
CT: Both are hard, but balancing family and career is more difficult. A child demands so much of you, whereas in a romantic relationship, two adults can communicate their needs and set professional boundaries—but when it comes to family, all those boundaries become blurred.
F: Cheyenne, a big part of your job involves maintaining a presence on social media. What’s your relationship with Instagram and similar platforms—and do you sometimes wish you could just go offline?
CT: We live in a time when everyone is online, especially if you run your own business. On the one hand, it’s cool to have access to so many people and to be able to share your craft with the world, but it can also be very exhausting. There’s so much repetitive nonsense out there, so instead of getting lost in it all, I set healthy boundaries for myself, go outside, and connect with people in person. I try to stay as authentic as possible with my content, because that makes social media so much more fun.
Q: How does your work influence your personal style—and vice versa?
CT: I think my personal style influences my work when I start the design process by asking myself, “What would I like to wear?” or “Would I wear this?” That’s a simple starting point for me because I know what I like and what I don’t. As for how my work influences my style, I draw inspiration from so many sources, including books on fashion history, textiles, and colors, as well as classic films like “Mulholland Drive,” “Blow Up,” “Buffalo 66,” and “Paris, Texas.” Thanks to my father, I also have a fantastic library at home full of fashion and photography books dating from the 1960s through the early 2000s. For example, “Fruits,” a legendary Japanese street style book, as well as books by Corinne Day, Guy Bourdin, Helmut Newton, and Ed Templeton. The list goes on! Through this creative process of finding inspiration for new designs, it all gradually influences my personal style.
Q: What have you picked up from each other in terms of style?
CT: There was a time when I dressed pretty flashily, but now I love Marcel’s jeans-and-T-shirt style. It’s much more minimalist, but spiced up with a cool statement piece like a bag, shoes, a nice coat, or a blazer.
MP: That’s funny, because I’ve actually always dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, but when I met Cheyenne, I started putting a little more effort into my style and developed a fondness for oversized suits and blazers.
“I’d love to raid Kate Moss’s closet.”
Q: What’s your funniest fashion faux pas?
CT: Wow, where do I even start? Sometimes I come across an old street style photo of myself and it gives me a huge shock. Back then, I used to lug that shiny, holographic Birkin-style bag around everywhere and wear tons of bright colors and graphic patterns that were pretty questionable.
Q: What item from someone else’s closet would you steal in a heartbeat?
CT: I’d love to raid Kate Moss’s closet. Maybe one of her legendary slip dresses from the ’90s or one of her vintage faux-fur coats with a leopard print.
Q: Which fashion trends do you especially love right now, and which ones do you really dislike?
CT: High-low fashion is making a huge comeback right now, which I love: mixing secondhand and vintage pieces with new ones. I like to dress that way. It’s also a great way to shop smarter while still dressing with personality. As for trends I don’t like—I don’t know if this really counts as a trend, but what’s up with some of these fast-fashion brands that decorate their clothes with big rips and holes? Is that what they’re calling “Recession Core” now?
Q: What’s on your bucket list—professional, personal, or both?
C: A fresh start and bringing more personal projects to life in the fields of art and music. Marcel and I also miss warmer weather and would love to raise our daughter by the sea, so we want to take some time to figure out where our second home might be. Maybe Portugal? We’ll see what the future brings—we’re both excited about what’s to come, so stay tuned!
Cotiere
A coastal state of mind —that’s how the label Cotiere, founded by Cheyenne Tulsa and Marcel Porcher, describes itself. This mindset comes quite naturally, as model and influencer Cheyenne is a native of Australia and knows how to make life at the beach beautiful—and stylish. The label is currently at a turning point: a relaunch is in the works. Stay tuned. @cotiereofficial
You can see how the two of them looked as models during our shoot with Persol here.
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Photo: ©Maximilian Marx
