Features - Fashion Rocks
CARLOS CAMPOS
When Enrique Iglesias and Justin Timberlake are sporting your threads, it is safe to say you have arrived. New York based menswear designer, Carlos Campos has a significant list of clients who flaunt pieces of his collection, but it’s the authenticity and precision of his work that has carved out a niche for the newcomer in the world of style and design.
The 35-year-old Honduran fashion pedigree dates back to his early childhood. Raised in a fine tailoring and design household, Campos’ father, a tailor, taught his son the basic tricks of the trade. Moving to New York City at the age of 13, Carlos set out to pursue fashion. Influenced by the diversity of the city, he enrolled at the renowned Fashion Institute of Technology to study fashion design. It was at FIT where Carlos garnered the philosophy and techniques to excel at the next level. Upon graduation, he worked on Broadway as a costume designer for such acclaimed plays as The Invention of Love, Fiddler on the Roof and the Tony Award winning show Jersey Boys.
From singers to actors, the concert stage to the theater, Campos’ designs have made cameos under the brightest lights. The first time he showed at New York Fashion Week in 2001, Carlos recalls the experience as feeling quite natural. “It was an art gallery, right after Sept 11th,” he recalls. “It was a great show, we had a collection and the opportunity came up, so it felt right.” Describing his style as “elegant jet-set rock star, with a romantic [twist],” Campos quickly became known as the “go to” designer for the perfectly tailored suit.
In 2006, he branched out to launch his self-titled label, creating sleek and modern menswear. Mostly noted for his well tailored precision of divinely selected fabrics, the wunderkind designer’s success and reputation led him to co-found a second imprint, Guido New York, and open his made-to-measure studio in NYC. “Everything [about the city] influences me,” he explains. “[From] people on the street, musicians, buildings, everyone.” The Big Apple’s influence prepared him for his first show at Fashion Week. “It took four months to design and was held in Times Square,” he remembers. “Like anyone [would be], I was nervous. [I thought], is all this hard work worth it?”
The following year, Campos’ doubts were put to rest. Awarded the “Best Menswear” distinction at Mexico City’s Fashion Week for his Fall 2007 Collection, his designs were sought out by entertainment A-listers from Ethan Hawke, to platinum selling rock bands The Fall Out Boy and The Killers. He also snagged the Rising Star Award from the Fashion Group International.
This September marked Campos’ fourth presentation at New York Fashion Week, showing his Spring 2009 collection. Debuting his women’s wear collection, Carlos turned the fashion industry on its heels, when he announced the inclusion of an all black female cast for his runway show. According to a survey by the New York Daily News for February ‘08’s Fashion Week, out of 1,584 modeling slots, only 94 went to black models, a mere 6%. Latina models got only 17 slots, about 1%, and Asian models got 95, or 6%. Always one to push the envelope, Campos’ artistic approach was inspired by the jet-setting lifestyle of celebrity couple David Bowie and supermodel Iman. The models were cast to be reincarnations of the two icons. “We were a more organized house as more people got involved,” Campos explains of the shows production. “We show pretty early [at Fashion Week], so we get it out of the way, and the rest of the week is more laid back.”
From his first show in Times Square to a scheduled launch of a flagship store in Honduras, Campos finds the time to give back to his native country through the Carlos Campos Foundation. A foundation that is responsible for assisting single mothers with resources from childcare to job training, it’s evident, the designer hasn’t forgotten where he came from. “It is amazing to go back [to Honduras], so many years later to revisit memories of my youth,” Carlos said. “I left when I was very young, but my childhood was one surrounded by the world of design.”
Campos’ designs can be found worldwide, including Japan and Panama, with a deal in the works to create more collections and open a chain of flagship stores in Mexico. Although, his clothing is quite expensive, to date, the most rewarding moment for Carlos could be captured in one snapshot. “For me, it hits right before every show when I see all the clothes lined up.” Priceless!
KATY RODRIGUEZ
When one asks Los Angeles based Women’s wear designer, Katy Rodriguez, who would she love to design for? She simply replies, “Just about every woman I have ever met.” And just about every woman in Hollywood wants to adorn her designs. With clients such as Sarah Jessica Parker and Liv Tyler, it is no wonder why Rodriguez’s collections show seasonally at New York’s Fashion Week. With a drive that is ultimately forged from the need of self-expression, the 39-year-old of Spanish, Italian and Irish-American roots, draws inspiration from many sources. “My family inspired my childhood,” explains the San Francisco native, whose sharp eye for style emerged after studying fine art and photography. “My friends have inspired me as an adult. [And] creative people like artists, designers, singers, and skateboarders [continue to impact me].”
In 1996, Rodriguez first made waves as co-founder of the designer vintage store, Resurrection - and lasting over a decade in business, the brand currently operates in Los Angeles and New York. Constantly inspired by other artists, in 2000, Katy and Raymond Pettibon designed a capsule collection based on ink paper drawings by Pettibon. After a few collaborations, Rodriguez’s fervor to set out on her own came in 2005, when the fashionista began designing dresses that portrayed her modern vision. The following year, after assembling 13 original pieces that owned a vintage flare, Rodriguez was selected as one of Gen Art’s “Fresh Faces,” debuting her Spring 2007 line at the Gen Art show as a part of L.A.’s Fashion Week in October of 2006.
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