Designers Robert Tagliepietra and Jeffrey Costello with stylist Kathryn Neale Shaffer. Pic Betty for MDC.
One of our favorite collections this season belonged to the talented Brooklyn based duo Costello Tagliapietra. The light and airy selection of elegant, finely crafted dresses represented fashion at its most straightforward and beautiful. No gimmicks, no styling tricks – just the kind of effortlessly chic clothes women want to wear presented on a stellar cast of au courant beauties. We caught up with the designing duo to discuss the little details of their collection and the power of inspirational beauty.
MDC: What was the overall inspiration this season?
Robert Tagliapietra: For us it is always about beauty for beauty’s sake. That has sort of been our mantra this whole time. Even in the paintings we do in our spare time we just believe in creating beautiful things. With clothing it is about just making women feel beautiful. When you buy a garment you should have that love for what you buy and part of that is beauty.
MDC: Tell us a bit about the beautiful detailing and jewelry.
Robert Tagliapietra: It’s an extension of the way we pattern make and drape. And for us it’s about putting another texture and adding another level to the clothing. Even with the jewelry, we think of it the same way we would think of a dress.
Anne V backstage at Costello & Tagliapietra. pic betty/mdc.
MDC: The makeup and hair had a little of a forties feel, was that the look you were going for?
Jeff Costello: There is always a romantic period we look to. We look at a lot of decades and put them together for a romantic feeling instead of just pulling from one decade, sort of an ethereal feel.
MDC: What kind of model look do you like and what is your kind of woman?
Robert Tagliapietra: There are so many different women who inspire us. Anne Vyalitsyna embodies a lot of our aesthetic but then you can look at an Ali Stephens and even the younger girls like Addison Gill and Katlin Aas and they just capture the feeling behind the clothes. There are some amazing girls out there and for this season we really wanted to handpick girls who really have a freshness about them. The idea is a woman who is coming to bloom in a lot of ways. Just living in the moment and feeling romantic and feminine.
