“I have a bit of a funny timeline. When I was 14, I learned how to drape when I started working at Temperley in London. I opened my own label and shop in Dubai when I was 16, where I made customised eveningwear, but it closed because creatively I wasn't getting to where I wanted. Then, during my university studies, I worked at Prabal Gurung and Ellery, where I also draped a lot, and Bottega Veneta, where I learned how to work with leather and construct outerwear.”
How would you define the Andrea Brocca aesthetic?
“My aesthetic is ominous, romantic and architectural. All of my inspirations come from my multicultural background: my upbringing in the Middle East, as well as my Italian and Sri Lankan heritage.”
What is it about the craft of haute couture that drew you to practising it yourself?
“Couture, for me, is the highest art form in fashion and I like to think of myself as someone who creates wearable art. I'm also obsessed with precision and technique, so I was naturally driven to the craft of it all.”
The world of couture is changing with young designers, like yourself, coming onto the scene. What is the future of haute couture?
“We have so much mass production in fashion and demi-couture is the perfect balance between luxury ready-to-wear and custom-made pieces. It’s sustainable and it really is the future. It's also a healthy way to approach commerce—without excess—and maintain designer and client relationships.”
Talk us through the debut collection and its references.
“I was watching Lars von Trier's 2013 movie Nymphomaniac and saw the logarithmic spiral in a scene, which triggered childhood memories. When I was a young boy, I was inspired by the Fibonacci sequence because, as I grew up in the Middle East, I saw a lot of Arabic art based on mathematics. Then, I developed a technique with curved pleats in continuation, creating a three-dimensional volume out of flat fabrics, so the whole collection is based on spiral cutting, solidified with under-structures.”
What was the most difficult piece to make? Tell us about the processes that went into it.
“It was definitely the leather coat, where I extended the logarithmic spiral down the arms to create an abstract structure. Applying such intense construction onto a sleeve made it a super technical and complex piece—I had to refine the pattern about 15 times.”
What keeps you going when you are designing a collection that requires so much patience and precision?
“Honestly? Deliveroo. But, in all seriousness, I’m obsessive over what I do so it really is all about my creations and its processes. I love it. I tried to date someone while making this collection and, of course, it did not work out.”
Any advice for other young designers trying to break into fashion?
“Challenge yourself, develop personal techniques and, ultimately, give it your all to master your craft. I don't think I've quite gotten there, yet, but I'm obsessively working on it!”
