Sydney’s recently rebranded Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia (MBFWA) had only a smattering of standout parades: Jenny Kee’s quirky scarf install; Romance Was Born’s comic book explosion of prints; Song for the Mute’s menswear homage as lightbox statues, based on the sound of snow crunching. And then there was Aurelio Costarella’s parade, which took breaths away… and didn’t give them back for days.
Costarella is a Perth fashion force who makes young women into elegant ingenues and lithe ladies of luxury. He’s a red carpet fixture, his gowns dripping off countless celebrity frames here, over east and especially overseas. He’s the must-have Wag Nation date when a footy player simply won’t do. All this and the guy wears nothing but suits… and an Armani tan.
And when STYLEAID – Perth’s premier fashion fundraiser for the WA AIDS Council – turns 15 this July Costarella will be there, a highlight on the big night… as always.
‘I’ve been involved with every STYLEAID,’ Costarella recently told OUTinPerth, on the phone from a luxury hideout in Bali. ‘I recall that my very first year I showed MILK, a label that I launched at Australian Fashion Week in 1998. From 2000 I have presented the Aurelio Costarella line at every STYLEAID.’
It was back then, at the turn of the millennia, that Vogue Australia picked him as one of several to watch. And watch we have in the past 12 years. With adoration and delight.
‘We’ve taken (the brand) from our home base in Perth to an international playing field. Having shown at New York Fashion week for four seasons and at MBFWA for the past few years has certainly helped to solidify our positioning in the global fashion market. Now with strong internal PR and a LA based agent we are getting amazing global coverage and celebrities such as Giuliana Rancic, Nicole Scherzinger and Fergie wearing the label.’
What has caught everyone’s eye this season are the amazing Remy Kestrel headpieces that topped off Costarella’s standout MBFWA show. Forget the hair salon – get one of these puppies for your Sunday jaunt down Hay Street. And yes, expect these and fabulous threads at STYLEAID.
‘I will be showing a selection of runway looks from my recent Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Show, Sydney. A summer collection of heavily beaded and embellished cocktail dresses and gowns in hues of wasabi, chartreuse and tapioca.’
So… what did the man behind the label dream of being when he was a 15 year old kid?
‘The fifth member of KISS! I saw them perform at the Entertainment Centre and I caught Peter Criss’s drumstick which I still have.’
Thank God he decided to do fashion instead.
Aurelio Costarella joins 14 of Perth’s premier fashion labels on Friday July 27 from 7pm at the Burswood Entertainment Complex to celebrate 15 years of STYLEAID. Tickets to this black tie event are selling fast. Visit www.styleaid.com.au for full event details.
Until mid-September, find Aurelio Costarella’s pop-up concept store at New Paper House in Brookfield Place, St Georges Terrace, Perth, open Monday to Friday, 10am – 6pm.
Scott-Patrick Mitchell
