Is Michael Costello a racist ?
It would be hard to believe so
since he is the go-to designer
to all of our personal favs
including Ashanti, Tamar
Braxton, Gabourey Sidibe , Keri
Hilson, Meagan Good,
Christina Milian and Beyoncé.
Aside from creating 24
handmade custom creations
for Beyoncé and Jay Z’s “On
The Run Tour,” he also uses
black models in his shows,
and recently snagged Skylar
Diggins to walk in the finale of
his Spring/Summer 2015
collection during Los Angeles
Fashion Week.
Unfortunately, the former
Project Runway contestant is
being accused of sending out
a racist comment that has
rocked Instagram. To give you
a little backstory: Two weeks
ago, an up-and-coming
designer named Maxine
James, who runs an online
boutique, received payment for
one of her dresses from
Michael Costello’s partner
Stephanie. She was elated
that the designers were fans
of her work, however, days
later, she saw her dress
posted on the Mtcostello
Instagram page as if it was
their very own creation, with
no credit to her. She wrote:
When I received pymt
from @mtcostello
@michaelcostello a
week ago I was lost for
words… excited but a
TAD confused … I
called wubs like “wow
my favorite designer
just purchased a dress
from me wow he
wants a dress from
little ol me?! Like this
man makes dresses
for freakin BEYONCE
and he just bought a
dress from me!” a
week later This
happens he literally
bought my EXACT
dress … Put it on HIS
model took pictures in
HIS showroom as if he
designed this piece his
self. It’s so
disheartening I
couldn’t help but shed
a tear… Him as a
designer should know
first hand how heart
breaking it is for ppl to
take something you
worked so hard on
…..It’s like why? Who
does that? I mean we
ALL get inspired from
some where but it is
completely unfair to
take someone’s
EXACT design and
EXACT dress at that
and claim it as your
own….
@michaelcostello You
are already a well
known designer you
design dresses for TOP
celebrities… Why
would you do
something so low? I
put so much into my
brand … I eat sleep
breath it… I paid for so
many mistakes while
making this design I
went through so much
to make it perfect …for
it to fit perfectly…
patterns ..grading …
cut… Production …
photo shoots ALL OF
THAT and you literally
take my EXACT DRESS
and claim it as your
own … I tried to reach
out to you and you
block me ? Like
seriously … It’s
extremely
disheartening I
TRUELY did look up to
you as a designer…you
were one of my
favorites….I hope this
lasts you for a life time
… because God will
never continue to
bless someone who
does evil malicious
things like this….
Period
As you can see from the
above screenshot, the
MTCostello Instagram posted
the dress from Maxine’s store
with the caption, “Love the
Diana Dress!” but no mention
that it wasn’t their design.
This is where things got pretty
ugly. Immediately people who
read the young designer’s
Instagram post bombarded
Michael Costello’s Instagram
to ask him why he would steal
her work, and he harshly
responded to a few people
while blocking others.
At one point, he allegedly grew
so pissed that he called
someone a “n—er” while
dropping Beyoncé’s name in
the same sentence.
“Your just probably a
dumb n—er defending
her. I am royalty b—h!
I dressed Beyoncé!
Who are they gonna
believe!”
Immediately afterward,
Beyoncé fans swarmed her
stylist Ty and her Twitter and
Facebook begging her to cut
ties with Michael Costello.
Meanwhile, Stephanie
(Michael’s partner) finally
spoke out and explained her
version of what happened with
the purchase of the dress,
saying that the only reason
she bought it was because
she saw that the dress looked
just like one they designed a
while back. She said when she
got it, she sarcastically posted
the pic of their model in their
showroom to show people it
was a forgery, but never
planned on actually selling it
or branding it as their own.
There has been a
recent accusation that
MT Costello posted a
picture on our
Instagram account of
a dress that was
purchased from
another designer. The
image was later
reposted by the same
designer and included
a caption stating we
had bought the dress
and were attempting
to rebrand it as our
own. As the co-
designer of MT
Costello, I feel it is
important to address
this matter and
provide an explanation
to all affected by the
issue. I, Stephanie
Costello, purchased
the garment in
question due to the
apparent similarities
between it and a gown
that Michael Costello
and I designed that
was posted on social
media over a year
ago. Regretfully, my
emotions became
involved when the
dress arrived and,
driven by frustration,
preceded to
photograph the dress
on a model in our
showroom as a
sarcastic and
inappropriate attempt
to expose the
designer’s garment as
a forged duplication of
our own. I did not, nor
ever intended to sell
the item as a MT
Costello product. As a
business we take
duplicated work very
seriously as it affects
our ability to support
employees, interns and
families. Michael and I
work diligently on our
gowns adding
signature cuts and
silhouettes unique to
the MT Costello brand.
As designers we grow
attached to our
creations and I reacted
emotionally before
considering the effect
it would have on the
public and the brand. I
realize that my
attempt to expose the
designer and the
garment was
extremely
unprofessional and for
that I apologize. I ask
for your understanding
and forgiveness for my
emotionally driven
reaction. I have
learned a valuable
lesson from this
experience and fully
intend to address
similar situations in
the future more
professionally.
Sincerely, Stephanie
Costello
Meanwhile, Michael posted a
few pictures on Instagram
(that have since been deleted )
insinuating that Maxine
blatantly stole his design so
she shouldn’t be mad.
“Imitation is the
sincerest form of
flattery. Our Diana
gown made by Michael
and Stephanie over a
year ago. We love as a
team to inspire.”
“Stop stealing art and
make something
original.”
Maxine bit back and said that
Michael took the original
design from the Anthony
Vaccarello 2012 Fall
collection, so he needs to take
his own advice.
As far as Michael’s alleged
racist comment, he has
released a statement saying
that the screenshot that is
circulating is all a fake:
The hurtful screenshot
circulating is fake and
does not represent my
views on society, nor
do I condone the use
of such a terrible
term. It deeply
saddens me that an
individual would go to
such lengths at an
attempt to demean
and misrepresent my
character. My designs
are centered on
accentuating the
inherent and natural
beauty found in EVERY
woman. My career
would not be where it
is today without the
support of individuals
from all walks of life.
We are currently
looking into this urgent
matter to identify the
culprit. At this time,
we have reason to
believe the fake image
was edited and
circulated by a
disgruntled intern who
is no longer employed
at Michael Costello.
Once the individual is
fully identified, we
intend to pursue legal
action.
Whew chile!! The world of
fashion!
Post Update: Today, John
Legend’s wife Chrissy Teigen
posted this angry tweet/
Instagram comment in regards
to Michael Costello.
Yikes!
Screenshots via TGJ,
Instagram, Shaderoom |
Tumblr
Source: Necolebitchie.com
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