Paul O’Connor

I'm Paul O'Connor and I held the role of brand manager for Aurelio Costarella Design from 2005 until 2015. I oversaw and organised publicity events in Australia and internationally. It was inspiring working alongside Aurelio. Aurelio was focused, driven by the design process. Each thematic collection was an exploration that moved seamlessly from one season to the next. His love of experimentation and generosity saw him combine his talents with many other individuals to create show-stopping creations for the catwalk, red carpet, ballet, opera and theatre. Over the years, Aurelio had 200 fashion design students or more do work experience at his studio. He employed numerous young graduates, nurtured a strong studio team that stayed with him for years and mentored multiple industry creatives.

I remember jeweller Sophie Kyron's macrame pieces and textile artist Pearl Rasmussen's embroideries adorned his first namesake collection at Australian Fashion Week back in 2000. Lee Preston and her Goldwell team would travel across Australia and to New York Fashion Week to style the hair for Costarella shows, often accompanied by makeup maestro Hendra Widjaja or John Stapleton from Mac. At times, Kailis or Atlas Pearls would bejewel the Costarella models teamed with killer high heels by shoe queens, Terry Biviano or Prue Barnes.

Often accompanied by intricate one-off headwear by Reny Kestel. Backdrops by abstract painter Walt Kolbusz and music by songbird Grace Woodroofe would add drama and another dimension to the presentations. You'd often witness artists Pippa McManus crafting illustrations of the shows, and photographers Fabrizio Lipari, Pierre Toussaint, Chantel Concei, Oscar Chong, Di Vidos, Frances Andrijich, just to name a few, capturing beautiful moments in time.

For all parades, national or international, we would cast WA Beauties making waves in the the modelling industry. Emma Booth, Rebecca Twigley, Amy Finlayson, Simone Kerr, Tia Eckhart, Nicole Trunfio and Jessica Gomes. They all cut their catwalk teeth dressed in Costarella cloth. Aurelio understood the power of collaboration and that combining multiple talents would create magic that was unique to his brand. In doing so, Aurelio focused the global fashion spotlight not just on himself, but on the Australian fashion industry as a whole.

My 10 years with the brand was exciting, never boring, no show was ever the same. Sometimes it was hectic, mad, wild, exhausting, always memorable. Many friends around the world were made.

I feel truly honoured that I was part of the fashion legacy Aurelio created and that lives on today.