Costello Tagliapetra
Everyday is an opportunity to meet a new person. Everyday is an opportunity to learn something new. Earlier in June I had the opportunity to “Tweet Meet” the men behind the luxury line of Costello Taliapietra, Jeffrey and Robert.
Jeffrey, born in Bristol Pennsylvania moved to New York as a teenager and began a career in fashion designing for a variety of downtown actresses and musicians. It was in 1994 he met his partner Robert, a New York native and recent graduate of Parson’s School of Design. It was in 2004 that they created the Costello Tagliapetra line. Premiering the collection on New York Runways in the Spring of 2005 the designers were acknowledged for their elegant designs and beautiful collection with the 2005 Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation Award, and showed their second “expertly executed” collection of twenty-four looks which was critically acclaimed. Nominated, and finalists in the 2005 and 2006 CFDA Vogue Fashion Fund the designers were elected into the CFDA and in 2010 were awarded the CFDA/Lexus Hybrid Living Award. The designers have collaborated with the like of Uniqlo on two consecutive collections, which were ultimately very successful.
With designs that play with the tensions between fabric, drape and silhouette, both Jeffrey and Robert create such unique visions that are so much more than fashionable; they are timeless. Having both been taught by their grandmothers in the finer and more intricate points of tailoring, their early learning of couture techniques and patternmaking has carried through and an honing of skills is evident as they have created wardrobes for an array of private clients over the years creating perfectly fitting garments for those they dress.
After learning all of this from Jeffrey and Robert, I had wanted to know more and they were more than willing to answer some of my questions.
Jack:
What has been the most difficult time in your careers?
R+J:
Deciding in 2005 to launch our collection versus working directly with clients and not having any experience working for other brands.
Jack:
What do you find to be the most rewarding part of what you do?
R+J:
When you have the opportunity to see someone in the street in something you created.
Not something lent or borrowed but a piece that that person actually went to the store and purchased and then when a customer reaches out to us via email or on the street to discuss our work, those are the most rewarding times.
Jack:
Has there ever been a time when you’ve wanted to quit doing what you were doing and do something else? If you weren’t doing fashion, what would you be
doing?
R+J:
Sure, This is true with any career. I think if we weren’t doing this we would be painting or drawing; in the arts in some way.
We would have to be creating something that is an instinctual need in us.
Jack:
Do you find yourselves inspired by the female body?
R+J:
The female form is our first and foremost muse. We design for the body and to compliment the body in an effort to make women feel beautiful, feminine and confident. There is an inherent sensuality to our clothes that come from the female body and how our designs interact with it.
Jack:
With all the successes that you have had, is there anything left that you still want to accomplish? Is there any place you have not been with your designs and your line that you would like to go?
R+J:
We still have a lot of room to grow. In a lot of ways we are still a young brand and we would love to watch it continue to grow and for us to continue to learn along the way. There is never a time to be complacent in your career, there is always room to build we have never been the type of people to celebrate every accomplishment, that kind of thing comes and goes, we would rather put our minds into design, when we design something we love we feel accomplished, until the next idea comes along.