Andrea Brocca: From Window-Shopping With His Mother to Becoming the World’s Youngest Couturier
Andrea Brocca was only seven years old the first time he walked into a Chanel store. His mother, who grew up obsessed with the glamour of French fashion and French couture, had taken little Andrea with her. From that moment on, Andrea understood her passion for the opulence of YSL and the 80s. Andrea says, “My mom and I always had a very close relationship as I was the only boy [in the family], and I think I took her passion [for fashion] to heart.” He continues, explaining that he merged his own passion for fashion with that of his mother’s, “I think I understood that I wanted to be a designer because I was so interested in the brands she introduced me to. She would bring me shopping everywhere. She would take me to expensive boutiques and teach me about the fabrics and perfumes and the history of brands.”
Andrea started designing clothes at a very young age. At first, he was obsessed with the history of garments: “I’d go through loads of books, and I would draw what I saw. I started drawing very precisely from a very young age, translating that into fashion by drawing costumes from Marie Antoinette’s to Queen Victoria’s to Henry Tudor’s wives’ gowns.” Reproducing these garments proved to be a beloved pastime of his that has turned into something much bigger than he could have ever imagined.
PHOTOS: ABDULLA ELMAZ / MODEL: CHANTAL BROCCA / MAKEUP: ATHINA DOUTIS
PHOTOS: ABDULLA ELMAZ / MODEL: CHANTAL BROCCA / MAKEUP: ATHINA DOUTIS
Last year, Lady Gaga’s team contacted Andrea about letting Lady Gaga wear his Monster gown on the cover of Billboard. Earlier that same day, he had just spoken to friends about which artists he wanted to dress next, and his friends had brought up Lady Gaga. The hand-painted black and white gown that Gaga wore on the cover was inspired by Andrea’s journey toward unearthing his mother’s identity as well as his own in the process. To Andrea, Gaga was like a religious icon: “I think that she really introduced [the idea of] ‘let’s be freaks,’ and so she has become a religious icon for me since she represents self-acceptance. In that context, I was very proud that my level of artistry was facing her level of artistry directly by her wearing my art and her being art.” Although Andrea was surprised, he explains that he expected this success in a way. He says, “After I finished my collection, I realized that the eccentricity of my work could really fit well with her, and so I think because of that what was meant to be was.”
Now that he has dressed entertainment royalty like Gaga, the designer is looking to dress all types of royalty. Andrea explains, “I grew up drawing the clothes of the monarchy through the decades and I like that within this niche there’s a way to express myself through the highest craft possible. I want to build my clientele, build my network, and build prestige around my brand.”
PHOTOS: ABDULLA ELMAZ / MODEL: CHANTAL BROCCA / MAKEUP: ATHINA DOUTIS
Andrea is inspired by people like Leonardo da Vinci, who has always been seen as a representation of maximum human potential for how technically precise and complex his work was. To him, Davinci was “fucking iconic.” Another source of inspiration for him is Charles James, an Anglo-American couturier who made elaborate gowns between the 1930s and 70s. Andrea was fascinated by his invention of the wrap dress and for his creation of the first dress with a zipper. To Andrea, James challenged fashion through the medium of construction in a way that not even Galliano for Dior, who did these really maximalist designs, did.
“For me, style is the reason that I wake up and go to sleep because it’s what I’ve dedicated my life to. Fashion, for me, is a way to market my style on a commercial level, while still keeping my integrity as a creator.” To Andrea, art is an instinct for creativity and the belief that you and your work are valid enough to be projected to the world. He explains, “Fashion is commerce, and style is the instinct that comes from art if you’re fashion-focused. When you can start commercializing your style, you’re a designer and you make collections and these collections enter the market to get sold every season, and through this medium it becomes fashion.”
PHOTO: ABDULLA ELMAZ / MODEL: KRISTINE ANGESHI / MAKEUP: ATHINA DOUTIS
Andrea prioritizes how fashion and art work together in response to the social climate, so he considers the social context of what he works on. To be more specific, Andrea notes how he thinks Gen Z and the politics that come along with this generation are complicated: “All I’m gonna say is that when it comes to the political conversation of 2020, I’m just sticking to my creative roots and being honest with myself as an artist and a painter by linking inspiration from my three cultures and delving into who I am as a person and using that to refine my craft and translating that into my art and my couture. That’s my politics.”
“For me, style is the reason that I wake up and go to sleep because it’s what I’ve dedicated my life to. Fashion, for me, is a way to market my style on a commercial level, while still keeping my integrity as a creator.”
When it comes to choosing the materials he uses and what he produces, however, Andrea recognizes fashion's waste problem as a contributor to climate change. Consumers are also getting smarter, becoming more compassionate, and demanding action from the industry. Andrea takes note of it when it comes to how he moves in the fashion world: “I think my approach is very important because I think a lot about how I source my fabrics, and I think that creating made-to-order pieces is a sustainable way of approaching fashion.”
With respect to the kind of perfect world he wishes to create his art in, Andrea hopes for a more accepting world, “for everyone to be born with equal opportunities and for people not to discriminate against each other for the differences they have in terms of skin color, weight, and sexuality, among other things.”
STORY SOPHIE MONTALBAN
COVER PHOTO WING TO FUNG