applecore: The Parisian Brand Redefining Fashion with Culture and Community
Today, worn by Koba LaD or Niska, yesterday sold at colette. Since 2015, the Parisian brand applecore has embraced contrast. Its founders share their vision.
There are only six years between Moriba Koné, 31, and his business partner Steven Alexis, 25, who co-founded applecore in 2015. On paper, that’s not much. Yet, listening to them, this small age gap feels like a generational divide. They themselves speak of a "generation" apart. Given the rapid turnover of trends and, more importantly, the shift in mindsets—which they describe as a "complete switch"—it seems that time moves in fast-forward in the fashion world. A universe that Steven entered later than his older counterpart.
"Even though I loved clothes and watching runway shows, fashion was a world that completely went over my head. From the outside, it seemed weird to me," he admits. A jack-of-all-trades creative, he feared being boxed in and instead explored every possibility. His path is a series of sharp turns: after middle school, the Poitiers native studied industrial sciences—"a kind of advanced tech class"—before enrolling in an architecture school, which he dropped out of midway through, moving to Bordeaux to study graphic design. At 20, he forced his way into Paris, juggling agency work as a creative consultant. "But when I was working in agencies, I wanted to do solo projects, to express myself on other things," he recalls. Those "other things" initially took the form of a small series of face masks that Steven produced and distributed among his circle, catching the attention of Moriba, who would later become his business partner.
Moriba, for his part, found his path more quickly. After three years at university, he attended two fashion schools, Mod'Art and IFM, before launching his first brand, Maison Seine, which was sold at colette for nearly a year and a half. At the same time, he was making a name for himself behind the decks at some of Paris' most sought-after parties—first as part of the Montaigne Street collective, then as one-half of the DJ/producer duo BLKKKOUT, which released an EP featuring LaGo and Papa Ghana, co-founder of Dutch brand Daily Paper. These notable achievements helped the French-Malian entrepreneur carve out a place in an otherwise exclusive circuit. Then came applecore.
At applecore, everything revolves around human connections. It’s about bringing people together, recognizing others, and valuing those who grow alongside you. "That’s what the brand’s name is about—the metaphorical connection to the core of an apple: applecore is the essence, the heart, and around it, you have all kinds of people and energies coming together," Steven explains. This philosophy enabled the brand, still in its infancy, to land on the shelves of the legendary concept store at 213 Rue Saint-Honoré, thanks to the strong relationship Moriba had built with Sarah Andelman during his Maison Seine days. But that doesn’t mean the opportunity was handed to them. Quite the opposite.
"At first, she said no," Moriba recalls. "Back then, the ground floor was for more accessible, streetwear pieces, while the first floor was harder to get into, reserved for more established brands. We came in with very fashion-forward products that could have fit on the first floor, but we weren’t established enough yet." So, the duo adapted. They rethought their approach, toned down their ambitions, and refocused on more accessible pieces that found their way into the famed boutique. Just before colette’s final closure, applecore’s connection with the store deepened, leading to a collaboration presented at ComplexCon. Achieving such a milestone just two years after launching was remarkable—but also premature. "The funny thing is, we did a collaboration between applecore, colette, and ComplexCon, but we weren’t structured enough yet. We didn’t have the money to fly out and present our collection there. Our products made it, but we couldn’t," Steven laughs. Always moving too fast.
When it comes to reaching the Parisian fashion elite, colette was an unparalleled platform. But Moriba and Steven have always looked beyond the city limits. Applecore needs to reflect them—bringing together people from backgrounds as different as theirs. "Nouvelle France," as they might call it, referencing one of their past campaigns. Their designs and branding are filled with references meant to resonate with the people who embody them. One day, the slang term "Lovés" (for “money”) is printed on a sweatshirt or tailored trousers; the next, Marianne is embroidered on a cap with a new motto: "Multicultural, Unifying, United." Their latest collection, presented during Paris Fashion Week, is titled "Identity."
"The theme is self-discovery. Moriba and I constantly question ourselves. We keep asking why we ended up here. In my family, everyone was working-class, no one was in the arts—so how do I explain why I thrive in this field today? Where does it come from? This whole introspection is reflected in the Identity collection: how you shape yourself through your upbringing, the books you read, the people around you, your religion, your heritage," Steven explains. Applecore is in sync with the world around it.
Yet, drawing inspiration from both suburban slang and the Renaissance, applecore can be hard to pin down. It might seem surprising that a seemingly niche brand, committed to local production because "it was unthinkable to create something and not be there when it was made," ends up on the backs of top rappers like Niska or Koba LaD. So, who is applecore’s target audience? "Open-minded people," Moriba says simply. Then clarifies: "Anyone. You can be a bourgeois kid, someone from the suburbs or the provinces—as long as you have an interest in art, in culture, as long as you’re curious, you can be part of the applecore family." No elitism, no ultra-limited drops—the goal is to go beyond that. "Honestly, I didn’t always think this way. I used to be more niche, focused on targeting the ‘right’ person. But now I realize I want the brand’s idea to be broader. I want its name to be ingrained in people's minds," he adds.
Their reference? Comme des Garçons, admired for their ability to balance the avant-garde with accessibility. "What I love about them, and why they’re one of my favorite brands, is their range. They create museum-worthy pieces that are nearly unwearable, but also more affordable items that are easy to wear. Being able to engage with a brand in multiple ways is great," Moriba explains. "And structurally, having multiple lines is super interesting when you have a lot to express," Steven adds.
Yet, in their push for global recognition, the duo has paradoxically chosen to scale back. They want applecore to be its own launchpad, independent of any boutique in France or beyond. "At first, applecore was available in multiple concept stores worldwide—Japan, Australia, London, Paris. But we decided to refocus on our online store to build our own independence. That has to be our foundation. Once we're stronger, we’ll be in a position to choose exactly who we want to work with," Moriba says. Steven is even more direct: "For a young brand, wholesale is tough. For us, it was a really bad experience."
At applecore, everything is about added value. Every action must have meaning, purpose, and a real impact. Why force yourself to do what everyone else is already doing if you can’t bring something fresh to the table? That’s why, for now, the brand refuses to organize fashion shows. "At this point, it’s not interesting for us. There has to be something powerful in everything we do—whether it’s the story we tell, the activations we put in place, or the overall process. Otherwise, we don’t do it," says the older of the duo. This mindset turned what was supposed to be a simple written interview with Vogue into a full-fledged fashion editorial, entirely conceptualized and executed by the applecore team in 2016. "We decided that whenever we were given an opportunity, we would deliver more than what was expected. For Vogue, we went to Étretat ourselves, selected the models—everything. The journalist just had to send over the questions."
Mindsets, indeed. Especially those within the fashion industry—and even more so in Paris—have long been a source of frustration for the young Steven. A frustration he felt compelled to vent in a fiery Instagram post, published just two days before the unveiling of the "Identity" collection. "I just believe the pie is big enough for everyone to get a piece," he explains. "When I arrived in Paris, I saw so many people saying, 'No, I won’t work with this person because they’re friends with so-and-so.' No one was collaborating." With six more years of experience, Moriba had already encountered the unwelcoming nature of Parisian fashion veterans. But now, he and his partner are determined to lead change: "For a long time, I struggled with it. I could have decided that, since no one helped me, I would just focus on making it on my own. But instead, I want to connect, to give people opportunities to grow. The new generation is much more community-driven, and we desperately need that."
Steven often references the creative process in music, as he closely collaborates with the ETMG collective, founded by Elaps and home to talents like Pyroman, Junior Alaprod, and the multifaceted Meryl. "The spirit of sharing is really there—it’s an incredible energy. Someone starts a beat, then another person adds to it, then someone else builds on that, and so on. There’s this idea that ‘Together, we go further,’ and that really inspires me." Today, both creators hope to see the fashion world finally move in the same direction—so that Parisian fashion can shine through "real people." At the same time, they want applecore to stand out among this constellation of emerging French labels, shining brighter than the rest. They want it to be to Paris what Daily Paper is to Meda. "We want people to think of France and instantly associate it with applecore as a defining brand," concludes Moriba.