Rebel Rebel featuring Aurelio Costarella
Traditions are the guideposts driven deep in our subconscious minds. The most powerful ones are those we can't even describe, aren't even aware of. - Ellen Goodman, American Journalist
The jacket you keep from ninth grade until your first days in the office, and the suit you wear from the first days out of school until you can't even remember your formative years: this is the stuff American sportswear is made of.
Fashion is about newness, about current energy, about rising technologies, and most of all about change; but like any designer will tell you, certain themes will carry from one season to the next, becoming staples that underlie an identity that isn't only about changing, but also about preserving core values: in this case practicality, American independence, and the role of female designers.view fullscreen feature
Designers featured in this story:
Light and Magic featuring Aurelio Costarella
Dreamy black silhouettes backlit by fluorescent lights. Childlike sounds that somehow seem menacing. Two girls similar but not identical. Two boys tinkering with ancient instruments and shoegazer riffs. The color black everywhere. The "electronic rock" band Ladytron has a solid innocence underlined by darkness; somehow they portray angst sophisticatedly in their music and their look consistently. view fullscreen feature
Aurelio Costarella :: New York Fashion Week Spring Summer 2009 featuring Aurelio Costarella
There are only a few designers who I can say with genuine enthusiasm move me with their inspirational clothes. And I am not easily swayed by the pomp and circumstance of the fashion business, so it really takes someone with vision to perforate my steely resolve. In the case of Aurelio Costarella, I can still visualize the love-at-first-sight moment: it was in his New York showroom, after last season's show, and as I was walking by a sea of nude-colored chiffon I realized it was the very same, gorgeous concoction I had seen the previous week on the runway. I pulled it off the rack for closer inspection and that was, as they say, that. Every component of each piece was constructed so flawlessly, no detail overlooked. The sublime craftsmanship and consideration for even the smallest detail were utterly dazzling. After this first touch encounter, I welcomed him with open arms into ZOOZOOM's world as one of our favorite designers to watch.more...
An Androids Tale :: I Dream the Dream of Love featuring Aurelio Costarella
When Hampton Fancher set out to write 'Blade Runner' he wanted to cross-pollinate strains of forties Film Noir with the science fiction canon of the early eighties (which was about to come into existence). 'Blade Runner' is both about the future and the past, specifically, about evolutionary and technological change in relation to memory. Rachael (Sean Young) exists in the undoubtedly turbulent intersection of these themes; aesthetically, she represents them.
Costume Designers Charles Knode and Michael Kaplan (under the direction of Ridley Scott), set to 'mix... the style of yesteryear with a look toward tomorrow.' Fine Arts Writer Francesca Myman wrote of Rachael's wardrobe ::
'Shoulder padding, stark straight lines, and lacquered hair make her proportions too perfect and slightly extreme. At the same time, they evoke... historicity... her clothing is closely based on a forties Film Noir model, and it evokes a sense of nostalgia... Her clothing instantaneously places her in relationship to history -- she is not purely modern, instead, she is classic.' more...
Aurelio Costarella :: Designer Profile featuring Aurelio Costarella
Aurelio Costarella's design career has its origins in the era of Keith Haring and Malcolm McClaren's 'Buffalo Girls'. And although he named the pop elite of the likes of the Eurogliders and Baby Animals as his icons, this Bergdorfs and Bendel favorite designer is not limited to dressing Australia's Cremore Arcade club kids for the Red Parrot and the Silver Slipper (though he seems to be just as fond of the scene now). more...