I didn't know who Calvin Klein was, really. But Brooke Shields, we knew her from those incredible commercials - "There's nothing between me and my Calvins." I knew very little about American fashion then. I had no money, and Charivari was very educational to me. And Parachute. I was fascinated by those stores. I couldn't buy anything; I just went through the clothes.

Francisco Costa

Categorized in : Fashion Educational Incredibles

Brazil is not what you see but what you feel. Once you spend time here - a week, two weeks - you get in the vibe. It's really intoxicating.

Francisco Costa

brazil week two

I came to New York in 1986. My father didn't think it was a good idea. I didn't know how I found it, but I went to Hunter College. I had no money and I couldn't speak English.

Francisco Costa

college new-york father

I don't listen to music when designing. We create in silence. I go through a torturous process because everything has to be precise and right.

Francisco Costa

design silence process

My mom. She was quite a character. Open-minded. It was a very small town, and she started her own business, manufacturing children's wear. She was very dynamic. Her death was like the umbilical cord being cut. That's when I moved to America.

Francisco Costa

cutting mom character

Each season I strive to design a forward-thinking and effortless collection with a very clean minimalist aesthetic.

Francisco Costa

clean design thinking

When a sketch comes into this three-dimensional form and everybody contributes, it's really fantastic.

Francisco Costa

fantastic form three

I get so much inspiration from my travels, but I also started an exercise where I write down so many words every week. Then I begin crossing them off. We create a grid of words and also images, but words for me are more ample because you can interpret them your own way.

Francisco Costa

inspiration exercise writing

I wanted to be involved with fashion, though I didn't know what being a designer meant.

Francisco Costa

designer fashion wanted

I never liked sleeping; I always think I am missing something.

Francisco Costa

missing sleep thinking

I hate to sound esoteric, but there is something about a house that leads you to that one chair, that one corner, where you just sit and feel comfortable.

Francisco Costa

esoteric hate house

I wasn't a club kid. I wasn't an artist. I was just a foreigner, trying to soak it all up. I had quite a lot of fun.

Francisco Costa

artist fun kids

I drape a lot. I cut. I have to touch. For me, it's almost impossible to start without that.

Francisco Costa

drapes cutting impossible

I’ve reached a certain age where I love to work. I could just live here [at the studio].

Francisco Costa

certain just-live age

If you have beautiful knees, show your knees. I'm not a puritan. I love skin.

Francisco Costa

knees skins beautiful

My birthday is May 10. I'm so Taurus, you would not even believe. All the Tauruses I know have this connection to the earth and the environment. We are very curious people, very loyal, very aware of and respectful of our surroundings. Also we're stubborn, but that's our way. We understand what we want, which is not bad.

Francisco Costa

my-birthday believe people

My parents had a factory, so I was linked to the textile and fashion industry.

Francisco Costa

textiles fashion parent

People don't really go to museums in Rio. I shouldn't say it's not sophisticated, but, you know, they go to the beach.

Francisco Costa

beach museums people

I'm not an artist. I'm a fashion designer of clothes.

Francisco Costa

clothes fashion artist

I don't love reading so much, but I love book shopping. It's just because I don't have much time.

Francisco Costa

love-of-reading reading book

My love of fashion stemmed from my mother's passion for it.

Francisco Costa

passion fashion mother