A Feel for Fashion: Costanza Pascolato

Italian native Costanza Pascolato moved to Brazil in 1945 as a young girl whose family background – aristocrats and founders of a textile factory – honed her fashion sensibility. She built a career spanning four decades as journalist for the Brazilian magazine, Claudia Moda, the newspaper Folha de São Paulo, and Vogue Brazil in which she had a regular column. Meanwhile she also established her own company as a creative consultant. In 2008, Pascolato was awarded the Commendatore dell’Ordine della Stella by the Italian government in recognition of her contribution to the fashion industry. She launched her eponymous style blog in 2013 which became a platform for the style doyenne to reach a global audience and they have since followed her to Instagram where she has nearly 775,000 followers. 

What creates an emotional response for you in fashion today?

The human factor. Social platforms have provided a space for individuals to take self-expression to another level. Yet, fashion has always been about personality. As individuals make history by reflecting on their ever-changing identities, it also means they are reflecting history. Clothes are like windows into particular points in time portraying social changes. The way we dress is a social message.

Often we see several designers arriving at a similar idea during a season. How do you explain this creative intuition?

They are following l’air du temps or the zeitgeist.

How do you feel about designers expressing or interpreting their worldviews in their collections?

The best designers do it right. They reflect and challenge the world we live and dress in. With their views, they open our eyes to new ways of living, dressing and being. That broadens our perspective and allows new expressions of ourselves.How would you like to see fashion evolving this year?A fashion that respects inclusivity in a very broad way – of races, genders, perspectives, sexualities, classes, sizes, abilities – and makes that real and understandable to all of us. A fashion that is both creative and ethical. 

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.