Little known in Brazil, Alan Crocetti is one of the current darlings of the international fashion scene. His campaigns are true manifestos encompassing all genders, in which men, women and “no gender” (gender neutral identity), wear unusual, sexy and highly desirable jewelry.
Alan was one of the first to show that jewelry can be worn by all genres on the planet. And in a way beyond sexy. Penis-shaped pendants, bandage-shaped nose jewelry: their arsenal of pieces is provocative and ultra-refined.
Naturally, her pieces have already ended up on red carpets for celebrities like Miley Cyrus, Rihanna, Sam Smith and Dua Lipa. An unprecedented success for the 36-year-old designer who grew up in the Lagoa da Pampulha region, in Belo Horizonte. “My childhood was amazing, my parents always let me explore all of my creative interests, even if those were sometimes short-lived,” Alan tells CNN. “But it was important for my growth to know and have had these opportunities to recognize what I could add and what was not my path”, explains the designer, now based in London.
Fashion that comes from the cradle
Accustomed from an early age to fashion, Crocetti grew up among the sewing machines in his parents’ knitwear. But a trap of fate made him have to fight for his financial independence alone. “Unfortunately, their company went bankrupt as soon as I started studying fashion in the capital of Minas Gerais. What made me look for work to pay my bills and leave Brazil to seek greater independence”, he says.
The choice of London was well thought out. “As a European, I can move to different countries in Europe. I spent a few months in Italy, explored cities like Milan, Paris and decided to go to London because I wanted to study at Central Saint Martins and because of the diversity, creativity, the vibe of the city”, says the jeweler. “I did four years of course and in my final project I developed accessories and clothing. As a result, the jewelry I made for this project was gaining space in editorials and in the same year I started to be called on to collaborate”, he says.
The following year, Crocetti was invited to present his first collection at Fashion East, an incubator that helps new designers during London Fashion Week, and he hasn’t stopped since. His first collection was purchased by the trendy Dover Street Market in London, New York and Tokyo.
“So I started to conquer my space and created the brand that is a mirror of my person. I appreciate both balance and instability. I live on strengths and weaknesses. So, it makes a lot of sense to portray this in my work, using images of people (not just models) who mark me by their stories”, says the jeweler, who is inspired, above all, by art and architecture. “Growing up in Belo Horizonte and living immersed in Niemeyer’s world allowed me to understand and value the shapes, areas, perspective”, he says.
true to yourself
“From the beginning I wanted to express my voice and my ideas without having them ‘smeared’ by the creative vision of other people. So, I took the time to understand myself as a designer and where I wanted to take my brand”, he ponders.
During this process of building his label, he was invited to contribute to other jewelry stores and fashion brands, but to accept them, he would have to give up his brand to work exclusively for them. “I declined all offers and continued working at a restaurant to pay my personal and company bills, maintain my creative freedom, and build a business,” he says.
As for the jewelry store’s “bad boy” posture, he discards the radical image that his brand can convey. “I founded the brand with the objective of passing on the importance of seeing and embracing individuality as an organic reality, rather than a radical positioning”, he says. “Of course, in life and in business I am part of a system of social and cultural norms that categorize and exclude people. Therefore, valuing and exalting individuality can be seen as a revolutionary act”, he says.
His pieces, made in sterling silver and plated with 18 carat gold or rhodium, are made in Porto, where the jeweler frequently travels to monitor the manufacturing process of his collections. The stones, coming from different parts of the world, such as Portugal, Brazil, India, England, are divided into green and purple amethysts, yellow citrine, blue topaz, laboratory ruby, crystals. Both gold and silver are recycled, a trend that is gaining more and more importance in the fashion industry.
“Be yourself and be proud of who you are, that’s my message. And wear whatever you want to wear”, he completes. “There is nothing more empowering than self-knowledge and self-love. For me, it has always been very important to have an ‘armor’ (this is how I see my jewelry) that allows and helps me to be in contact with myself. This ‘armor’ makes self-knowledge and self-love tangible”, sums up the designer.
Projects and partnerships
The “no gender” universe gained a lot of space in the fashion and behavior of this decade. Clear message among millennials, for whom this reality is constant. And Alan has understood this directive a long time ago. “The ideas linked to the post-gender movement were attributed to my products simply because they allow each consumer to interpret them freely, without restrictions”, he says.
I like to show jewelry on bare bodies because of the context that they are paramount for me. I don’t want them to be seen as a mere accessory, as something secondary
In the middle of this year, the designer launched a collection in partnership with another enfant terrible, but this time in fashion: Jean paul Gaultier. All of the stylist’s gay symbols were there: the bandanna-shaped necklace, piercing and bracelet, the famous cache-teton, or male nipple earring (who doesn’t remember Madonna’s cone-shaped bustier?).
To complete this year’s launches, his latest Fall/Winter 2021 collection entitled “Inferno” is loaded with delicate and precious pieces. In the collection, two great inspirations: the fire element and the great sculptor Aleijadinho. Signal of the jeweler’s shift to a more purist phase? As for projects for the future, one of his greatest wishes should not take long to happen. “I want to see my creations in Brazil”, he says.
Reference: CNN Brasil
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