An Interview with Charli Cohen

Charli Cohen

Meet Charli Cohen, sportswear designer, personal trainer and nutrition consultant, with all this under her belt you can see why The Nutritionista was dying to have a chat with her to find out more about this extremely talented lady. To give you a quick snapshot Charli graduated with a Fashion BA honours in 2012 at Kingston University London. Charli’s graduate collection swiftly gained recognition from the fashion industry becoming finalists for a large variety of prestigious awards. With her new activewear line launched at London Fashion Week and co-founder of That Girl Charli has successfully managed to combine all her passions of health nutrition fitness and design. I hope you enjoy what she has to say :)

1. Can you describe how your sportswear collection idea first came about?

Fitness and fashion are my two biggest passions and I realised early on I didnt want to choose between them. I qualified as a personal trainer during the first year of my fashion degree, had my epiphany that sportswear was the perfect consolidation of the two and the rest is history!

2. Congratulations on launching your new collection at London Fashion Week….when will these be available to buy in store and where will they be stocked?

Thank you it was really exciting to be able to launch my second collection at such a prestigious event! These will be in store from July I have a regularly updated list of stockists at http://charli-cohen.com/stockists/

3. Did you always know you wanted to design sportswear whilst studying fashion at Kingston University?

It took me a year to realise that it was the perfect way forward for me and it wasnt until my final year that I was actually able to design my first sportswear collection.

4. Tell us a bit more about That Girl and the idea behind it?

That Girl is an online fitness concept developed together with fellow personal trainer, Christina Howells. The programme is a series of high intensity workouts and targeted nutrition plans, devised especially for women. Christina and I understand the demands of a busy professional lifestyle, so weve kept the programme flexible enough to follow amidst the most hectic of schedules on computer, mobile or tablet. We wanted a real London edge, with City-based videos and GIFs, plus of course a clear focus on fashion and styling, with lots of Charli Cohen pieces in the mix!

5. What’s a typical day in the life of Charli Cohen?

Itll either be stacked with meetings or with management/research/design/PR/admin work. I take breaks for eating, training and sleeping!

6. Describe what you typically eat in a day?

Assorted protein, veg, healthy fats and as a rule of thumb, quick and easy to prepare. A typical breakfast would be salmon or chicken with a raw veggie salad.

9. Do you have any favourite eating spots in London?
Wholefoods, 108 Marylebone and The Good Life Eatery are my top spots. I also love The Churchill Arms for a good Thai.

9. Do you have a particular exercise routine?
My workouts include combination of bodyweight training, power lifting and Olympic lifting, with a strong focus on compound, functional movements. That Girl features highly of course!

10. Do you have any advice for young business women like yourself on setting up their own business?

Be super-organised. When youre running a business (especially a fashion business) if something can go wrong, it probably will. You need to be on top of everything all the time – leave nothing to chance.
Be open to every opportunity: even if youre not sure its right for you or that itll lead anywhere, have the conversation and find out more. You never know what might come of it!
And finally, dont give up! Its not easy but if you have the talent or product people want, perseverance, determination and passion will take you far.

For more information about Charli Cohen and her wonderful work go to:

Website: http://charli-cohen.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TrainWithCharli