Victor COSTA (American, Houston born 1935)
Victor Costa is an American fashion designer. He attended the Pratt Institute in New York and later University of Houston, where he studied fashion; traveled to Paris to attend the École d'Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, an institute operated by the Chambre Syndicale, the fashion trade association in Paris.
Returning from Paris, Costa began selling his fashion sketches to designers and merchandizers including Oleg Cassini and Ceil Chapman.
He soon went to work at Suzy Perette, a dress house, from where he developed a technique to visually capture the basic essence of popular European designs and styles.
He moved to Dallas and bought the Ann Murray company, a fashion house, from where he began manufacturing his designs.
Dubbed the "King of Copycats," he attained international fame in the mid-1970s for mimicking high-end European styles, tailoring them to his American audiences for affordable prices.
He founded Victor Costa, Inc. and later Victor Costa Bridal, and designed for several large retail outlets well into the 1990s. At one time, he was delivering merchandise to five different markets a year.
Costa is known for his extensive list of loyal customers, including Betsy Bloomingdale, Brooke Shields and Ivana Trump; he has also designed for First Ladies Lady Bird Johnson and Rosalynn Carter, as well as President Richard Nixon's daughters, Tricia Nixon Cox and Julie Nixon Eisenhower.
He is a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America.
Returning from Paris, Costa began selling his fashion sketches to designers and merchandizers including Oleg Cassini and Ceil Chapman.
He soon went to work at Suzy Perette, a dress house, from where he developed a technique to visually capture the basic essence of popular European designs and styles.
He moved to Dallas and bought the Ann Murray company, a fashion house, from where he began manufacturing his designs.
Dubbed the "King of Copycats," he attained international fame in the mid-1970s for mimicking high-end European styles, tailoring them to his American audiences for affordable prices.
He founded Victor Costa, Inc. and later Victor Costa Bridal, and designed for several large retail outlets well into the 1990s. At one time, he was delivering merchandise to five different markets a year.
Costa is known for his extensive list of loyal customers, including Betsy Bloomingdale, Brooke Shields and Ivana Trump; he has also designed for First Ladies Lady Bird Johnson and Rosalynn Carter, as well as President Richard Nixon's daughters, Tricia Nixon Cox and Julie Nixon Eisenhower.
He is a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America.