Tender Anarchy: A Conversation with Vaquera

15/11/2023

Interview by NOCTURA Magazine

Since its inception, Vaquera has blurred the line between fashion, costume, and cultural critique. What began in downtown New York as a DIY label led by Patric DiCaprio has now found a bold footing on the Paris runway—without losing its chaotic heart. We sat down with DiCaprio to discuss emotional garments, the power of disruption, and what it means to design in defiance.

NOCTURA: Vaquera’s early shows felt like fashion punk theatre. How has your vision evolved since those first chaotic runways?

Patric DiCaprio: We’ve matured, maybe—but not tamed. Those early shows were instinctual, loud, rough. Now, there’s more intention, more focus. But we still want to make people feel something, even if it’s discomfort. Fashion should move you, shake you. The drama is still there, just sharpened.

NOCTURA: There’s a strong sense of exaggeration in your silhouettes—huge shoulders, warped proportions. What’s behind the distortion?

DiCaprio: We distort to reflect reality. A padded blazer might feel absurd, but it speaks to power, insecurity, performance. Clothes are language. We exaggerate form to magnify meaning—sometimes tender, sometimes ridiculous. That’s what makes it human.

NOCTURA: Vaquera is now showing in Paris. How do you balance that move with your New York roots?

DiCaprio: New York made us. The energy, the urgency, the community—it’s all in the DNA of Vaquera. Paris gives us a new stage, but we bring our own script. We still work with friends, still build with our hands. Just because it’s in Paris doesn’t mean it’s polished.

NOCTURA: Is Vaquera political?

DiCaprio: Always. Not with slogans, but through form. We question beauty, gender, elitism. The work isn’t neutral—it’s responsive. But it’s not preachy. I’d rather present a contradiction than a conclusion.

NOCTURA: What’s next?

DiCaprio: We’re thinking a lot about softness—vulnerability as power. The new collection leans romantic, even melancholic. Big, emotional clothes. Still weird. Still us.

Vaquera continues to offer a wardrobe for outsiders, dreamers, and dissidents. In a fashion world often consumed by gloss, DiCaprio and his team remind us that there’s strength in messiness—and poetry in exaggeration.