V
anessa Cocchiaro is a globe-
trotting Australian stylist turned
founder and creative director of
the Paris-based contemporary
bridesmaid and evening wear
label Les Héroïnes. Passionate
about design, Cocchiaro, who
grew up in Adelaide, worked as a stylist in Sydney for
10 years before moving to Milan and then to Paris,
where she finessed fashion shoots as a contributing
editor for the influential French glossy L’Officiel.
“I made the move to Paris because I love the city and
have a lot of friends here,” she says. “I think it reflects
my personal style much more than Italy.”
The Right Bank apartment Cocchiaro has just
finished renovating is, like the design-savvy owner,
a clever blend of Parisian elegance, Milanese
sophistication and Australian pragmatism. Classic
Haussmann in style, the intimate 80-square-metre
home is located in the leafy northern 19th
arrondissement, a cultural hub that includes the
spectacular Jean Nouvel-designed Philharmonie de
Paris among its highlights, as well as two of the city’s
most magical parks, Parc des Buttes-Chaumont and
Parc de la Villette.
For this renovation, Cocchiaro worked in tandem
with her good friend, architect Diego Delgado-Elias,
who founded his practice in Paris in 2014 after
a decade of working on projects in both his native
Peru and the US. Describing his style as alternating
between the authentic and the audacious, Delgado-
Elias has not only refreshed the interiors of the 19th-
century space with raw, textured walls, oxblood
marble, accents of brass and Art Deco finds, he has
also custom-designed key furnishings. Here, Cocchiaro
reveals the joys of their collaboration.What appealed to me the most about this
apartment, which I found and bought at the end of
2017, was the natural light. It’s located in a corner
building, so the windows go from the front all the way
down the side. And it has two bedrooms — one that
I use as an office.
I started working on
the interiors with Diego
soon after I bought it. It
was such a pleasure
working with him on
such a personal project.
He knows me very well,
and I told him he could
do whatever he wanted
to. I fully trust his vision
and know he has
impeccable style. ››“I am obsessed
with the pink
velvet sofa,
which Diego
Delgado-Elias
designed and
was made by
Pierre Frey”
VANESSA COCCHIAROTHIS PAGEin another view of the lounge
area, Kandya Jason chair; coffee table
by Willy Rizzo; Diego Delgado-Elias sofa
made by Maison Pierre Frey; vintage vases
and accessories; candle by L’Officiné
Universelle Buly à Paris.