EMERGING DESIGNER

Guillermo Castillo

IN THIS FEATURE: Meet Guillermo Fashion Focus

egal & Rebel, is a multi-faceted collection designed by fashion stylist Guillermo Castillo. This versatile creative image-maker’s collection includes sportswear, jewelry and other outstanding accessories. Guillermo has worked for a variety of high-end stores and designers such as, Bergdorf Goodman, Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren and has even worked with the notable Interview magazine.

Guillermo Castillo was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador. He moved to New York with his family at the age of six. Always artistically inclined, Guillermo excelled in Art classes as early as elementary school. By the time he reached seventh grade he discoverd Vogue magazine and his life long obsession with fashion had begun. Guillermo's mother noticed his interest in fashion and taught him to sew. She was a highly trained seamstress, who sewed ties for the legendary French designer, Guy Laroche. Employing his newly acquired skills, the first thing that Guillermo made was a dress for his youngest sister. The dress had an empire bodice that he embroidered himself and the dress was so impressive that people thought it was store bought. The positive feedback persuaded him to pursue a career in Fashion Design. He attended the High School of Fashion Industries for a year, then transferred to the High School of Art and Design. During his third year, Castillo met a substitute teacher, Irene Albright, who was making the transition from teaching to fashion styling. She asked him to assist her during the summer. Guillermo had the incredible opportunity to assist on shoots for Vogue (German), and major advertisements.

In a stellar senior class featuring Marc Jacobs, he won the award for the best fashion design portfolio for the graduating class of that year. Because of his exemplary portfolio, he was offered a scholarship and began attending the Fashion Institute of Technology. While completing his degree, he assisted fashion stylists for publications such as The New York Times and German Vogue. After he graduated FIT, he made a few samples and shopped them around. Patricia Field expressed an interest and Sportswear International featured Castillo in their publication. Simultaneously, he started getting styling jobs solely on his own: Interview, Vogue (Mexico), Gianfranco Ferre (Studio001), and Bloomingdales, just to mention a few. After graduating, he pursued styling in order to meet the burgeoning demand for his services. As he states, “I feel fortunate to have been met with success as a stylist so early on in my career. In hindsight, it was an invaluable experience to be able to edit through the racks of some of the biggest fashion designers in the industry. It was an unexpected detour, which prepared me to create my own collection.” Guillermo Castillo’s debut collection Regal & Rebel, heralds in a return to his roots as a fashion designer.