Worth the Hype: The Life and Looks of San Jose’s Most Fashionable Couple
As the fashion industry continues to chase trends, push products and cycle through aesthetics, Andreia and Handerson Freitas’ style evolution dictates that true personal style must say something about yourself. In 2018, the couple left their 20-year long fashion careers in the vibrant streets of São Paulo, Brazil for the fast-paced vibes of Silicon Valley. Although their new home city of San Jose isn’t known to be fashion forward, they have maintained their interests and discovered new passions while staying true to their roots in fashion.
The couple first met in 1998, when Andreia was 18 and Handerson was 27, at an underground rave in Brazil. Both were big ravers in their youth — they listened to house, techno, psytrance, punk, anything that gave them good energy. To honor their first meeting, they held their 2003 rave wedding in a forest. There are no pictures of their wedding day, but Andreia recalled getting married in a bomber jacket that she later passed on to her son. “We don’t have any photos of our wedding day because no one was thinking about pictures,” said Andreia.
Her typical rave attire was a rotation of Adidas Gazelles, chunky platforms, long socks, scarves, layered tanks, t-shirts and low-waisted flares with tiny zippers. Handerson usually opted for Nike Air Maxes, cargo pants and graphic t-shirts. They both described their outfits “shoes first”, from the bottom up.
They both love shoes, but Handerson’s interest was particularly intense. He is often credited by the Brazilian fashion community as Brazil’s first sneakerhead/hypebeast, owning over 300 pairs of sneakers at his peak. Today, he keeps a mere 50 pairs.
Handerson keeps his shoe-related mementos in a large photo album wrapped in a gray denim-like fabric adorned with a DIY Nike SB iron-on decal. His collection is a collage of clips from magazines that featured shoe releases and sneaker trends. It even included a piece written by their close friend, Cristiano Santos for local newspaper Journal de Santa Catarina on his role in the Brazilian Sneakerhead community. As he flipped through the book, a postcard fell out from in between the plastic sleeves and landed on the floor.
Andreia explained that Handerson was so committed to the sneaker community that he would drive up to 14 hours to attend events. “He even went to this event on his son’s birthday, we were waiting for him at home to cut cake and open presents,” said Andreia.
Handerson picked up the postcard. “Actually, it was this event,” he said. He handed Andreia the colorful postcard-style invitation to Nike Air Max Day in São Paulo.
Luckily, Handerson made it back on time for the end of the party, but later on, Andreia and their son, Henrique attended events with him.
As time went on, Handerson’s interests changed and he began to downsize his collection. By 2009, his style shifted towards workwear, and he switched his daily shoes from sneakers to boots. “He even went to the beach with big Caterpillar Boots. We were on a family trip and my mother bought him a pair of flip flops because she thought he didn’t have any,” Andreia said. Handerson was a trend forecaster and fashion consultant at the time — and his style was definitely ahead of the curve. According to Google Trends, workwear didn’t really take off until 2020. But by 2011, Handerson was fully decked out in workwear-esque looks, even if it was incompatible with the hot and humid Brazilian climate.
His stylings caught the attention of Red Wing, a footwear brand focused on work boots. Handerson’s iconic photo was reposted by Red Wing’s Instagram account and won second place in the #redwingstyle contest. A few commenters questioned his fit. “Some guy saw the picture and was like ‘What the hell is going on? You wore those boots with shorts? You’re crazy!’,” said Handerson. Such comments never stopped him from expressing himself.
After his workwear era, he took a short dive into streetwear again around 2016, but with a more contemporary take. At the time, he worked as a fashion buyer at Kings Sneakers, a store that carries popular brands such as Nike, Puma and Adidas.
These days, Handerson maintains a true love for selvedge and Japanese denim, sneakers and boots. During the pandemic, he picked up camping and hiking, along with a few new outerwear pieces. With that, he began to dress more along the lines of gorpcore, an aesthetic featuring outdoor and adventure clothing and practical attire. He occasionally posts camping content on his Youtube channel, Going Outdoor and continues to source and sell vintage clothes on Poshmark.
Andreia described her style journey as a discovery of her personal tastes as she matured. “As more time passed, I liked more timeless and basic styles,” said Andreia.
As a product manager, Andreia loved fashion and was involved in every step of the process — from clothing design and conceptualization to marketing and product launch. Even when she was surrounded by fashionistas at work, she maintained her personal style despite pressures from the abundance of trendy and designer items.
“Personal style is like a backpack, you put in the things you like as you grow and find your style. Sometimes I see someone’s outfit and think, ‘oh that’s nice!’ but…. it doesn’t suit them. That’s because those clothes weren’t in their backpack. They don’t have history or experience with those clothes,” said Andreia.
In 2018, the family left Brazil following a period of increasing violence and crime rates. “I moved to look for safety. There were violent things happening in Brazil,” said Andreia. Police brutality also sharply increased in the years before they decided to leave. Between 2015 and 2017, the number of civilians killed by police officers increased by 57%.¹ Their departure to seek asylum was a turning point for their family and their careers.
After moving to California, Handerson and Andreia pivoted their careers away from fashion. The language barrier made it difficult for them to find work, but they were open to trying something new. Andreia now works as a service manager at an interior landscaping company where she focuses on enhancing indoor spaces with plants. She enjoys her work and the good vibes received from the array of greenery she handles. After finding a flier on the ground while on a walk, Handerson unexpectedly picked up a new role as food service worker and works on site at a Big Tech company. He recently celebrated his fifth anniversary at the catering company.
The couple’s fashion journey and their development of personal style demonstrates that what someone wears is often a reflection of their experiences, interests, and values. It goes beyond just wearing what’s in at the moment. Even so, it seems that trends are always trying to follow them instead of the other way around. Despite leaving their fashion careers behind in São Paulo for a new life in Silicon Valley, they maintain their unique sense of style and continue to evolve.
- Data from Statista Research. 6,430 civilians were killed by police officers in Brazil in 2022. This is more than five times the rate in the U.S. in the same year.
This article was originally published in the Issue 01 of Asterisk Fashion Magazine, Spring 2024. Find Asterisk Magazine on Instagram @asterisk_mag
