Vaquera’s Patric DiCaprio and Bryn Taubensee are launching a fragrance. Classique Perdu evokes “perfume ads from ’90s magazines, the way your hair smells after you blow-dry it, and the air conditioning in your dad’s Honda,” the duo said backstage.
You didn’t expect rose, oud, and vetiver, did you? The Vaquera duo may have moved to Paris to transform their passion project into a legit business, but they’re still clinging to their alternative streak. “We started this because we wanted to create, to express, to fuck with things a bit,” Taubensee said. “We’re really happy with what we produce, but we also asked ourselves why we keep doing it.” DiCaprio added: “We looked to our past and what we started it for.”
When you hit the decade mark, a funny thing happens. You’re no longer the new kids on the block, even though you may still feel that way, and a fresh pack of upstarts is vying for the industry’s attention. Add to that the fact that fashion—and the world—are in a different place now than in the 2010s: If it felt like we were in an expansion phase then, it definitely seems like things are contracting now. Good on these two for still finding their fun.
For spring 2026, there were plenty of acid-wash jeans and logo tees in the Vaquera lineup—that’s the stuff of many a successful fashion business. But this time, given their Paris new environs, the statement pieces took on the proportions of haute couture. A fancy hat swathed in netting set off a draped party frock in multiple fabrics and eccentric volumes. Other dresses were really only half a dress, suspended from one side of a pointy cup bra, and worn over track pants or a faux-fur skirt.
Having fun is one thing and making your nut is another. If you can combine the two you’re really winning. The scribble-print denim skirts made with the Japanese jeans brand Moussy and the Nike Air Max Dn8 collab sneakers—plus, Classique Perdu—tell us that these kids are alright.
