THE DESIGNER
VRAIXLUNE is the project of Coco Croft.
She has been designing dresses since 2003. Her earliest training comes from Stardoll, Polyvore, and her two grandmothers. Her sketchbooks landed her a meeting with the former president of Comité Colbert at age 13. In high school she worked at a men’s tuxedo store and her Tumblr account eventually led her to her first product development job when she was 17. She would go on to wear assorted hats, working in vintage denim, embroidery and antique jewelry before she began working in the bridal industry at age 20. She was an Art History major before dropping out to work more (Capricorn). If she could do anything now, she would move to Switzerland and work in restoration and preservation for a castle with her 13 year old chihuahua. In her free time, she enjoys video games, Spotify playlists, Clarice Lispector books and taking communion (bread and wine).
THE COLLECTION: (1) FOR SENTIMENTAL REASONS
This collection was shot at a movie theatre across the street from a house I lived in when I was 19. I used to be able to see it from my bedroom window. At that time, this felt like a very far off dream. Now, living in that home is a faraway dream.
A time of drinking canned champagne in my backyard with friends I no longer know. One morning I woke up to a note from a neighbor that said our conversations the night before resulted in them having to tell their child Santa wasn’t real. I had a chandelier and a swing hanging from a tree. The bottom of my glass table was painted black so that people could carve their initials into it.
I had just watched Sex and the City for the first time. I would answer anonymous questions on Tumblr and take Instagram photos for my friends on my Pentax. I loved playing New Order off of my TV so it echoed throughout my apartment and into the yard. It didn’t sound as good on an outdoor speaker.
A year later I wouldn’t live there anymore. The house was demolished and so was I. It took me many years to find the hope and the joy I felt in that yard again.
Only one thing remained with me in the decade that stands between me and that time, and it was a dream. It was a dream to create beautiful things, it was a dream to communicate.
It was a dream I had since I was very young, and it never wavered. In dark times, it was what kept me going, because I couldn’t quit before fulfilling the wish of a child I learned to love and care for throughout those years.
In a way, this collection doesn’t feel like my own. I’m not sure if it speaks to my vision for what I would make now or tomorrow. It was the tying of loose ends of memories and sentimentality. It was giving form to moments that I can no longer hold or access.
I found out that Santa wasn’t real but it didn’t stop me from creating a Santa of my own.
Such is love and such is life. The only thing we can do is make tangible the intangible. Such is a wedding dress.
There is no way to effectively communicate all that comes with love and commitment and understanding. These pieces, to me, represent my own love and commitment and understanding of myself.
The night before this photoshoot, something didn’t feel right. Something real and fun and exciting and me was missing from it.
So, at the last minute, it was decided that this collection would be shot by me and my best friend.
A huge thank you to Talyssa for always understanding me and helping me execute this. A thank you to my boyfriend, Alex, and my friends Andrei and Tanner, I could not have done it without you. And thank you to Olivia, our gorgeous model and a fantastic artist who brought the life to these pieces.