Esteban Cortazar is one of fashion’s youngest and most sought-after prodigies. He was born in Bogota, Colombia to an artist and a jazz singer so it’s no real surprise that he began to show signs of creative genius at 10 when he would take old clothes apart and staple random pieces together.
At the tender age of 12, he moved to South Beach where he began to style old vintage shop windows. His career was born when, at 13, he designed his first 9-piece collection for his elementary school’s talent show.
Cortazar first met Todd Oldham at his Miami Beach store opening when the ambitious youngster showed Oldham his sketches. This prompted Oldham to invite Cortazar to New York to watch his runway show and well, as they say, the rest is fashion history.
Cortazar made his unofficial debut in 1999 at Miami International Fashion Week alongside esteemed designers such as Carolina Herrerra. When he brought his collection to New York Fashion Week for the 2004 Spring/Summer collections, supermodel Cindy Crawford came out of retirement to open his show.
His clothes have been described as “flamenco dancer goes to Hollywood” because of the glamorous designs, luxe fabrics and bright Caribbean-like colors.
