In a lively and open Q&A with the CFDA’s Marc Karimzadeh, designer Francisco Costa chatted about some of his definitive moments as the former women’s creative director for Calvin Klein Collection, a role he held for 13-plus years. The Brazilian-born talent also worked at Gucci for Tom Ford and for Oscar de la Renta. The two-time CFDA Womenswear Designer of the Year winner is now immersed in his clean beauty brand Costa Brazil, but his fashion sense is sharp as ever.
Here are some of the highlights from the conversation.
On being a “Pretty Gutsy” designer for “Flexing Some New Muscle Sets” in WWD’s fashion review for the 40th Anniversary Calvin Klein Collection
Francisco Costa: “We had had this massive installation for the 40th anniversary at one of the Piers, which was magnificent, and the collection was the day after. I thought, ‘How can I do anything possibly that was so genius to jump off of?’ The next day I got this incredible review for the collection. It became one of the iconic ones for my work. It was really about sustainability and how clothes could be designed differently. Every single pattern was overlayed on itself. So, there were great designs, great clothes, but stacked, as if we were living in a new world.
We say we don’t care about the reviews [with a laugh.] We all say that. In the end, there is that flash of light that either teaches you how to go forward or that makes you realize, ‘Oh, this was interesting.’ It was more of a concept than a collection itself.”
Getting to Calvin Klein
F.C.: “I was at the house of Gucci with Tom Ford working in London, and living between London, Florence and Milan, I got a call from Calvin for an interview. I declined, because I was happy there. I wasn’t a very strategic designer like Raf Simons.
Donna Karan came right after I realized what I had done, by not seeing Calvin. That was a stupid thing, right? I realized that I had to see Donna. I guess this was a catalyst moment when I wound up being interviewed by two major designers. I am happy to say that I was able to work with Calvin, which was amazing. My partner John [DeStefano Jr.] has a very close relationship with Barry Schwartz, Calvin’s [business] partner. They were at the racetrack running horses and Barry asked, ‘Where’s Francisco?’ John said, ‘He’s back. He left Gucci.’ Barry said, ‘He’s back? Why doesn’t he meet Calvin?’ So, I met Calvin and of course, apologized. He was so enthusiastic.”
How working with Tom Ford and Oscar de la Renta was different than working with Calvin Klein
F.C.: “Unbelievable. Oscar was magical. It was about travels…there was the scent of India in the air or the scent of Uzbekistan. He brought that magic of travel into the room. That’s how I learned to understand color and to construct and to drape. That’s where I learned the craft and the beauty of living by the houses and the homes. He was just obsessed by beauty in that sense.
Tom looked at things through a camera. I would show him a dress, and he would say, ‘Where do you see her hair? Where do you see the belt?’ There was always a finishing touch that would be linked to this story that he wanted to tell.
Calvin was the magician of marketing. I think Calvin inspired Tom very much about how to create this magical kingdom.”
Building upon Calvin Klein’s and Fabien Baron’s celebrity history after Brooke Shields, Marky Mark and Kate Moss
F.C.: “Everybody took over the red carpet. I never did this on my own. We had a fantastic team working together. Our PR team was major. Marketing was major. But the company as a whole was moving into a different space. Calvin became a brand that was sold in China in a massive way. Korea was becoming ones of our biggest markets. It was really about the group effort of every one of us working there. There was no philosophy of us doing a better job than the past. We were so focused on making that a wonderful moment in fashion but also building the company in the best way.”
On Calvin Klein’s recent media coverage
F.C.: “Recently, a New York Times writer did a wonderful review of Calvin Klein having a new person come in to play and be successful. And that [review] completely erased my time at Calvin. Completely [laughs.] I said, ‘You know what? Either she was being ignorant, or I should give her a call to remind her about the 13 years that we lived at Calvin. They were the most beautiful years that I have had. If you spoke to anyone who worked there at that time, the company was so valuable to us. We loved the company. We loved being there. We were obsessed by what Calvin had built, and we were obsessed with what we did. We tried our best.”
What really happened to the stolen dress worn by Lupita Nyong’o at the 2015 Oscars
F.C.: “It was stolen. Do you think that I made that up? Somebody thought that was a real pearl dress. It was found somewhere downtown in LA. The funny thing is that [my partner] John closed the chapter on the conversation, because TMZ kept calling us and everybody that we knew. And they were making up this intrigue that we had created the whole thing.”
John DeStefano Jr.: “They said, ‘There was a lot of speculation that those were real pearls. Can you tell us?’ I said, I think the last time that someone wore a dress made of real pearls was probably Cleopatra.’ And they got the point. “
F.C.: “I was so totally freaked out, The stolen dress became a legal issue. The press was absolutely insane. It was on CNN and all over the world. The dress is now in the Calvin archives.”
How Calvin Klein is having a moment thanks to Ryan Murphy’s “Love Story”
F.C.: “I have always had a problem with Ryan Murphy because he never painted the picture the way it was. Obviously, he’s very successful and talented. I was so upset about what he did to Halston [in the 2021 Netflix series with Ewan McGregor.] I said, ‘I’m not ever going to watch anything that he will do.’ I said, ‘I’m not going to watch this ‘Love Story.’ It’s all pastiche.’ But then I did. The first one I thought, ‘Hmmm…this is interesting.’ By the second one, I was already crying. Then I watched the third one and stopped, before watching the last one. I think he understood them. I wasn’t there at the time. I have close friends, who very much lived that time with Carolyn [Bessette-Kennedy]. Obviously, not all of it is accurate because they don’t know.
There’s a design that he brought back. There aren’t many clothes today that are that simple. You have The Row and Khaite. It’s time for that. I’m a much better designer today. Maybe I can do something [laughs.]
Running into Calvin Klein
F.C.: “He’s so alert and so smart. He’s so brilliant. I saw him once at this trashy gym that we go to. He said, ‘I didn’t recognize you.’ I said, ‘First of all, I have no hair Calvin [laughs]. You made me lose all of my hair.’ He has tons of hair. How is that possible? He’s an amazing man. What he has done is so seminal for American fashion and it still is.”
Costa’s current Business
FC: “I have this lifestyle brand Costa Brazil. I lost this brand during Covid and sold it. I just bought it back. It’s been great. It’s a world that I had no idea about and one that is filled with protocols. Before when I did a collection, I went through so many yarns and textiles and spent six months developing it. This involves working with a lot more intention and not repetition. Fragrance is a beautiful world, and it is kind of viral right now. Everybody wants a scent. I feel that fragrance is the first thing that walks into a room and is the last thing to leave a trail.”
