FORT FASHION

Mochachino finds heart and home on the Treasure Coast

The man behind the Sabre Mochachino brand is as complex and interesting as the prints used for his clothing line. Known as Junior to his family and Vernon Braud [pronounced “bro”] for legal purposes, he prefers to go by Sabre Mochachino.

Almost 30 years ago, Sabre sat in a New York cafe enjoying a chocolatey coffee beverage so delicious that it became an inspiration: He would start his own brand — Mochachino — designing clothes in rich coffee-and-chocolate hues for women who were intelligent, confident and sexy. 

The backstory begins earlier, of course, spanning the country before making the Treasure Coast his home in 2008.

Sabre’s Panamanian mother and black father separated when he was 9 months old. His mother moved from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to New York City, landing a job in Chase Manhattan Bank’s dining room. “She’d always come home with food from the job,” Sabre said. “We were exposed to a lot of things that most kids our age weren’t. It’s those little things that opened up our eyes to the world at large.”

As the “man of the family,” Sabre sacrificed so that his younger sisters didn’t have to, making them paper dolls and drawing comic books from scratch. “I saw things that probably most kids shouldn’t have,” he said. “But I defined it as my mother not wanting me to be sheltered. I’m grateful for it. My coping skills are different. I see where others are coming from, but there are always nuances that get overlooked that add up to the bigger picture.”

Not long ago, Sabre talked about a particularly emotional phase of his childhood during a radio interview. At a break, the interviewer asked if he was OK. “I said, ‘For the first time in a long time, this story doesn’t seem to be “me” anymore. It feels like I’m holding my parents accountable for something we’ve moved past.’”

Sabre credits his mother with instilling in her children that their stories were more than their circumstances: “‘I don’t want this to deter you from dreaming,’ she’d say. It wasn’t a trial. It was a test. Now it’s part of my testimony.”

At 13, Sabre went to live with his father in Louisiana — a man he hadn’t seen since infancy. There ensued a battle of wills. He also had to navigate the city-versus-country mentality. Newfound cousins interpreted his proper speech as “uppity.” 

School and art offered a getaway. “My dad was against anything creative, because he saw it as weak,” Sabre said. 

“It was a dark period, because he controlled everything I did. I’m a junior, his firstborn. That was a lot of weight on my shoulders.”

SHIPS TO STITCHES

Sabre came from a long line of military service — all sailors, except his father. Joining the U.S. Navy gave him the opportunity to define life on his own terms. “The whole dynamic was interesting. I wasn’t used to having money of my own. I made friends, shipmates, buddies, who made sure I didn’t get ripped off.”

Sabre saw that a person’s background, politics or religion didn’t matter when danger called. “That sense of camaraderie was something I sought going forward.”

Stationed in Norfolk, Virginia, Sabre picked up his sketchpad again, remembering his mother’s frequent sewing. “If you can sketch it, you can create it. I got a Kenmore sewing machine because that’s the machine my mother had.”

Results were frustrating; inspiration was elusive. He often visited a fabric store. “These three women hovered around me like the fairies in Sleeping Beauty.” Finally, one pulled out a basic pattern and gave him a discount on fabric, telling him to return to the ship and get to work.

Sabre was so intimidated by the idea of sewing a jacket, however, that he glued the pieces together. One of his shipmates asked if he could buy it. “When I said, ‘It’s just glued,’ he said, ‘I don’t care. It’s your first design.’ With that sense of accomplishment, I thought, ‘This is possible.’”

Moving into an off-base apartment to better accommodate his work, Sabre ripped seams apart and started over many times. “Finally, I started to see things coming together.” When a woman suggested that he do a fashion show with her aunt, a ball gown designer, Sabre balked. “My friend turns to me and says, ‘If you keep saying you’re not ready, you’ll never be ready. What’s the worst that can happen?’ I was measuring myself against her designs but realized I’m my own person. What am I trying to say here? What is my message?”

BUILDING A BRAND

Following a successful second solo show, Sabre did not re-enlist. He rented a small space in a medical building [“of all places”] hiring a team for his business — Sabre Couture. One Christmas, he visited family in the Big Apple. “I stayed through my birthday on New Year’s and my mom says, ‘You know, Vogue isn’t gonna find you in Norfolk.’ I didn’t go back.”

Working at Andrew Marc in the garment district, Sabre learned the production side of fashion. When management changed and he lost his job, he saw it as God clearing the path for something better. “I had my brand by then; we were doing shows. Now I had the freedom to pursue it. It’s been the best ride ever since.”

By 2004, magazines were featuring the Mochachino brand, in part because of Chris Wilks, a “business doctor,” who became a close and trusted friend. “He was tenacious,” 

Sabre said. “He said, ‘I see your vision, and I want to help get you there.’”

The company expanded to Los Angeles in 2005. “I was upended by the colors, the glitz, the glamour,” Sabre said. “It was a world that was completely unfamiliar.” Unfortunately, his personal life spiraled. “I was an international fashion designer to the public, but I was actually at my lowest.”

THE BIG MOVE

Three years later, Wilks encouraged Sabre to check out Florida as a promising market. Disappointed by the housing choices in various areas and cities, Sabre walked into an apartment in the Casa Caprona historical building in Fort Pierce. “It was like the place said, ‘Welcome home.’”

Artist Colleen Nash Becht was Sabre’s first client here, befriending him, pointing out the subtleties of Treasure Coast life. He met local leaders and volunteered. He also met and married his husband, Donnie. This summer, Sabre opened a studio in Vero Beach — ironically, in what used to be a medical building, just like his first studio in 1993. “You’d never think, in a million years — things just came full circle.

“You can’t change the world,” Sabre said. “But you can change people’s perception of it. I’ve become more pronounced here. Not in New York, not in California — in Florida. People put more value behind the brand and the person behind the brand. ‘Here’ has taught me the value of charity, of community outreach.”

From gluing his first outfit together to dressing stars for major events, Sabre’s work has become as finely tuned as the hum of his machines. “My mission every day is to help people find their better selves, one design at a time.”

Sabre enjoys a close relationship with his family — including his father. His gifted team at Mochachino exhibits the kind of camaraderie he found in the Navy. He’s happily married. He sells clothing, eyewear, handbags. “Right in this moment, in this space, my dreams have been realized,” Sabre said. “But they’re limitless — and possible.”

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VERNON SABRE BRAUD JR.

Age: 52

Lives in: Fort Pierce

Occupation: International fashion designer — web designer, music producer, graphic artist and photographer

Family: Husband, Donnie Zerbe-Mochachino; parents; five sisters; two brothers

Education: Covington High School, Louisiana

Hobbies: “Most of my creative endeavors are my hobbies. I’d like to do more painting. It’s kind of cool now that I can actually put a lot of my artwork into the clothing.”

Who inspires me: “I would say, off the top, designers like Balenciaga. Gianfranco Ferré started out as an architect; he applied a lot of his architectural aesthetics in fashion design. Tom Ford’s marketing has been very, very keen. Donna Karon was able to take a trademark and make it valuable — she sold her company for $246 million and her trademarks for $400 million. It kind of informs you better on how to look at your business model, right?”

Something most people don’t know about me: “That’s easy — I’m introverted. I used to be a staunch pessimist. The irony is, I had to learn how to integrate being a public figure. I define three states: public, personal and private. Private is the only place I have for ‘me.’ I learned how to balance being an introvert with having an extroverted life.”