Francisco Medavog is a passionate fashion designer, artist and collector of couture. He first thought of being a fashion designer when he was 13 years old. He said he was reading a GQ Magazine and was impressed by the men’s suits. The first thought that came to him was, how do you construct a jacket? He said that inspired him to think about being a fashion designer. “In 1988, I attended FIDM (Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising) and at that time I started to collect couture and would study the clothes, look at the seams and see how they were sewn,” Medavog said. After 20 years of collecting couture, Medavog now owns more than 20,000 pieces, including gowns, handbags and jewelry. In 1987, FIDM inherited 200 pieces from Rudi Gernreich who was a famous fashion designer in the ’60s. Peggy Moffitt was his model and muse, and visited the college one day in 1988. She looked at Medavog’s work and said, “If you keep working like this you are going to be an amazing designer.” Medavog said this was a huge compliment from such a famous fashion model. In 1992 the Summer Olympics was in Spain. In conjunction with the Olympics was the Expo Sevilla celebrating the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus. Medavog was picked to represent Mexico. Medavog said this was an incredible honor as he was picked out of 1,000 people to show in Spain. Medavog said he fell in love with the future. His current “Space Invaders” collection is inspired and designed through this love. The fabrics are imported from Rome and all the designs are hand sewn. During the past summer, Medavog participated in the first San Diego Bikini Week, showing his “Space Invaders” Bikini Line at the Se Hotel Downtown. Currently he is working on his Fall/Winter 2010 Collection named “Erte in the 21st Century.” This elegant collection is inspired by Erte, the Russian-born French artist and designer, and will feature beautiful gowns with capes and opera coats. “It would be nice to find someone who believes in me and would like to invest in my line to make it a big sensation,” Medavog explained when asked about what his future goals are. To see Medavog’s work, visit his Web site: medavogcouture.com.
