We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rachel Cocca a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Rachel , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

I am beyond grateful to be able to do work I love every day. I’ll be standing a top a rolling ladder looking over racks and racks of glorious vintage clothes in a huge warehouse dedicated to costumes in Los Angeles, California (okay Burbank but STILL) and I can’t help but smile. I’m getting paid to dress people, paid to create a character, paid to help tell a story.
As a kid I didn’t even know being a costume designer was a job. I never really thought about who made the tv or movies I was watching. It just never really registered as a career choice, of course partially because of my parents and teachers at school but also just the culture as a whole doesn’t necessarily register creators as a valid career to pursue. I, of course, found out later what a huge industry film making is and never looked back.
I think I sometimes fantasize about having a regular 9-5 and having a desk, dressing business casual everyday, having weekends off and a steady paycheck. But, at the end of the day, I know deep down I would hate it. The mundane side of it all would eat me alive. I love that every single day of work looks different for me. Even the longer jobs I’ve been on where I am working with the same team for months on end, the day to day is always different wether its a different location, different character we are shopping for, no day ever looks the same and I love it so much.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a a Costume Designer and Stylist. I started off doing Costume Design for Theatre in school while also studying political science as a pre-law student. I quickly fell in love with costume design in general and eagerly sought out opportunities and advice from other creatives.

One part of my job that I really struggle with is the waste that occurs within the film industry. On every job I try to incorporate used or vintage clothes, a sustainable brand I can promote through commercial use or just trying to pick the least environmentally impactful way of prepping and wrapping. Essentially I just try to prioritize efficiency in order to achieve the most environmentally friendly option. Which, coincidentally is often the most cost effective choice as well.

One thing I plan on doing is partnering with like-minded clients who want to prioritize environmentally conscious dressing for both every day and even larger events like red carpets, premiers and parties. Even with an abundance of knowledge of the waste within the film and fashion industry, I find it increasingly difficult to point out actual sustainable choices made on some of these bigger red carpets and events. The moments when people are actually paying attention to what celebrities are wearing is when we should be promoting sustainable and ethical choices. And yet, during those events, celebrities and stylists alike are battling for their clients to wear these big name brands who are actually leading the way in wasteful practices within the fashion industry.

I truly believe this would be one of the most effective ways to change the consumerist and fast fashion nature of our society. people are regularly inspired by what people are wearing at events, on tv and on shows, so lets change society using these tools that reach every single home in america. Every time we put people in an article of clothing we are making a choice of what to promote and encourage the rest of the world to celebrate and to wear. I want to make the right choice.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I think the hardest part of my journey as an artist would be coming to Los Angeles, knowing very few people and successfully building a community that I feel supported and inspired by. My first few years living in los Angeles I found it incredibly hard to make friends. I went so far as to download bumble bff and legitimately date for friendships. It felt ridiculously similar to dating for love in that you know within moments of meeting someone if you are going to be friends or not. Its that guttural instinct where you just click and there’s no real reasoning behind it other than it “just feels right”. That feeling holds true for me throughout my life too. You have to go with what “feels right”.
Those first few years were very hard when I felt so alone and was still trying to get my career going. I had little tying me here and there were so many moments where the easier choice would have been to just go home. Back to my hometown, back to safety, family, built in community. Yet, I was resilient, I chose to stay here and build my own life, with my own people and career that I love and appreciate all the more because I’ve worked so hard for it.
I’ve built my community slowly and intentionally through people I’ve worked with, people I’ve met through roommates and friends and even some hobbies that are completely unrelated to work like running. Which, I also think is so important in creating a full life here in LA, where so much of us are motivated by work, to keep grounded by having interests OTHER than our art.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

PAY THEM. period. Lets pay people for their art. Let’s celebrate them and thank them for making our world so much better.

I know so many fantastic artists of so many different mediums who seem to frequently experience this struggle where people want the benefits of the art they are offering but they refuse to make the connection that their time, expertise and physical materials require financial compensation.

In a world threatened by AI, it’s due time we prioritize human artists. In order to create a thriving creative ecosystem I think we have to create limits on what AI can and should do. Art shouldn’t be solely created by robots. The beauty of art is that it is a reflection of society through a specific human’s lens.

I try to think through what styling and costume design would look like if it was solely ran but AI and robots and I just find the idea of creating a character for a film without the human interaction that occurs at a fitting totally sickening. Fittings are my absolute favorite part of my job. You firstly have to connect with the actor on a personal level, gaining their trust then you can begin to create a character or a look TOGETHER. It is very collaborative in my opinion. Wether styling for an event, or creating a character for film, the first step to me is always the actor/clients comfortability. From there we can build a full look that I am passionate about and that they feel confident in. That intimate exchange and connection feels so important to me at this point I refuse to believe a computer could recreate that same environment for an actor.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://rachelcocca.com
• Instagram: @rachelcocca
• Facebook: Rachel Cocca
• Linkedin: Rachel Cocca

Image Credits
David Litner