Francisco Costa assumed the role of Women’s Creative Director of Calvin Klein Collection after working directly with Calvin Klein and other top design houses of Gucci, Balmain Couture, and Oscar de la Renta.  Costa’s first collection for the house debuted for Spring 2004.

Costa has received his critical acclaim and recognition for his work and has received numerous awards. In 2006, and again in 2008, the CFDA named hima the Womenswear Designer of the Year. In May 2008, he was awarded the Mortimer C. Ritter Award given by the FIT Alumni Association to an alumnus who graduated from the school and has excelled in art and design. In April 2009, Costa was honored by Parsons The New School for Design at the prestigious school’s 61st Annual Fashion Benefit. In May 2009, the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum announced that they awarded Costa with the 2009 Fashion Design Award – which is presented to those who have demonstrated excellence and innovation in design.

Growing up in the small Brazilian town of Guarani near Rio, Costa was born into a family with deep roots in fashion. His mother and father were developers and owners of a successful apparel business and his sister also pursued fashion design. He arrived in New York City in the early 1990s with aspirations of designing for a large house. While studying English, he enrolled at the Fashion Institute of Technology where his talent quickly earned him an Idea Como/Young Designers of America award, which led to further study both at F.I.T. and abroad in Italy. Once graduated and having mastered English,  Costa worked briefly at Susan Bennett Studio before being recruited by the HE-RO Group as designer of Bill Blass dresses and knits.

In 1993, Costa began a five-year collaboration with Oscar de la Renta that included the designer’s signature collection as well as Pierre Balmain haute couture, pret a porter luxe, and the launch of Oscar de la Renta Pink Label.

Tom Ford recruited Costa in 1998 to join his Gucci design studio, where he was senior designer concentrating on eveningwear, including custom designs for select clients and celebrities, before joining Calvin Klein’s studio in early 2002.

Costa, who left Calvin Klein in April 2016, currently serves on the board of the New York-based AIDS Community Research Initiative of America (ACRIA), is a past contributor to Designers Against AIDS (DAA), which works to raise funds and awareness about AIDS/HIV and prevention around the world, and served as a presenting designer at the 2010 Life Ball in Vienna, Austria, the annual global fund raiser to support various AIDS charity organizations which is organized by AIDS LIFE and supported by amfAR.

Costa works and resides in New York City.