Estaban Cortazar
MIAMI-BASED
fashion wunderkind, Estaban Cortazar, after several seasons of getting
it right and laying the foundation for greatness (for someone so
young), stumbled a bit with his fall 2004 collection. A graduate
of Miami's Design and Architecture Senior High (DASH),
Mr Cortazar unveiled his first collection at the spring 2003 New
York Fashion Week, making him the youngest designer ever, at 18,
to début there. The pre-show buzz was rather deafening, starting
with a prominent New York Times feature piece, and pre-Fashion
Week meet-and-greet sessions with the grand poo-bahs of New York
merchandising (Saks Fifth Avenue’s Michael Fink and Bloomingdale’s
Kal Ruttenstein).
Born in Bogotá, Mr Cortazar used to be
in awe of the elaborate dresses his mother wore when she sang at
jazz clubs; and at 10, he moved to Miami in with his Dad who lived
above the News Café in South Beach, where Gianni Versace
famously read his morning paper. Now at age 20, the question becomes:
is he a great talent? Based on this collection, it is a safer bet
to say that he is a talent on a learning curve with the potential
to rule the roost.
The ’80s are not generally known to be a fertile
ground for seeking design inspiration, but that’s where he went
with this collection. Between the somewhat bulky jackets (with prominent
shoulder pads) featuring oversized fox-fur collars, the slightly
cheesy body hugging knit dresses, the disco-diva silver strapless
mini dress and the flared leg pants, he managed to bring back the
best and the worst of the best-forgotten "me" decade.
What saved him were his evening pieces. I liked his slinky grey
silver silk charmeuse long-sleeve floor-length dress. Other stand-out
pieces include his black silk charmeuse one-shoulder floor-length
gown, his red carpet-ready black leather ostrich feather strapless
floor-length gown, and his blue silk charmeuse–silk organza one-shoulder
knee-length cocktail dress. They were the pieces that best represent
his ability to become one of the industry’s most promising future
leaders. What works in his favour is the fact that he’s only 20
years old. He’s a mere pup. He has plenty of time to refine his
skills and live up to the promise of greatness most everyone saw
so many years ago.
CONTINUED
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He managed to bring back
the best and the worst of the best-forgotten “me” decade.
What saved him were his evening pieces
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