A deep look into how master knitwear designer Vladimir Teriokhin collaborates with KOCO Knitting to translate haute couture concepts into hand-crafted realities.
- New York Times called Vladimir Teriokhin fashion week's secret knitwear weapon.
- Co-founded Spencer Vladimir with Allyson Spencer, redefining luxury hand-knit apparel.
- KOCO's 50-page written pattern system enables seamless execution of complex structural cables.
- 100% zero-electricity manufacturing aligns with international luxury standards.
Some people end up in knitwear by accident. Vladimir Teriokhin arrived there by design, though not the kind you might expect. He trained as a professional ballet dancer at the Bolshoi before making his way to New York, and that background gave him something most knitwear designers simply do not have: an instinctive understanding of the body in motion.
The New York Times described him as fashion's secret knitwear weapon, and it is hard to argue with that. For years, Teriokhin worked quietly behind the scenes at some of the biggest names in fashion: Oscar de la Renta, Vera Wang, Marc Jacobs, Proenza Schouler, and The Row. When those brands needed knitwear that could do something technically extraordinary and still look effortless on the body, they called Vlad.
In 2016, he and Allyson Spencer co-founded Spencer Vladimir, a luxury hand-knit label that brought his work into the spotlight. The label was stocked at Barneys New York, covered in Vogue, and spotted on Gwyneth Paltrow and Miley Cyrus. The iconic Vlad sweater—a chunky cable knit drawing on Irish fisherman traditions and the structural geometry of H.R. Giger—became a cult piece.
Today, Vladimir continues to push the boundaries of what hand-knitting can achieve. His studio takes on bespoke commissions, sample development, and technical consulting for designers who need knitwear that works at the highest level.
The Technical Complexity Behind the Work
What makes Teriokhin’s knitwear so remarkable is not just the aesthetic. It is the technical precision underneath it. His designs require an artisan who can hold multiple complex instructions in their head simultaneously, working a cable chart while managing tension, stitch count, and garment shaping all at once.
This is not production-line knitting. It is a discipline closer to couture dressmaking than to commercial manufacturing. The garments he creates are structurally complex, with cables that shift direction mid-body, oversized silhouettes that need precise engineering to sit properly, and textures that only work if every stitch is placed exactly right.
At KOCO, this is exactly the kind of work we have been built to handle. Our artisans in Tamil Nadu, India, have been producing technically complex hand-knitted garments for fashion brands since 2013.
Why KOCO Was Built for This Calibre of Work
KOCO was founded on a simple idea: that the most technically ambitious hand-knitting in the world should be manufacturable at a scale that works for fashion brands, without cutting corners on quality or on the people doing the work.
Our artisans are skilled in the full range of hand-knitting techniques: cable and crossed stitches, chevron and geometric patterns, lace and openwork, rib structures, and two-colour work. We take on orders from a single prototype through to 1,000 pieces and beyond, with a standard delivery timeline. Every garment is quality assured before it leaves India.
The way Vladimir transformed his background in ballet into a unique approach to knitwear design taught me the value of bringing diverse experiences to our craft. It is a lesson that shapes KOCO’s collaborative approach with designers.
