We had the good fortune of connecting with Stephanie Stello and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Stephanie, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Risk gives Energy, and energy can often be measured by instinct. If you trust your intuition, the risks worth taking become a lot more calculated. True risk comes from having no idea what you’re doing. But sometimes you need that spark of energy to forge new creative paths, so we always want to foster an atmosphere that encourages audacity.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My art is contouring women’s bodies to make them feel confident. It’s not only the clothes, it’s the feeling. We were the first brand to make body contouring shape-wear gowns, way before Skims. It’s a compliment that Kim loved the way our Lycra dresses fit that it inspired her to make her own line of them.

Nothing easy is worth having. I wouldn’t have wanted it to be easy. Perseverance is crucial. Some of the lessons I’ve learned is not to take criticism negatively, learn from it instead. Be strong in your mind, don’t depend on your feelings. Someone is always going to copy you, take it as a compliment. I learned that the hard way.

What I want people to know about our brand is that we never went by the rules of the fashion industry. We never followed a fashion calendar, long before it was trendy. Those rules were set to actually hold designers back. We found loopholes, and made friends to get into fashion weeks. We set the stage for a lot of people in the industry by being nonconformist. There was a big shift to LA from New York as the center of the fashion world around that time too. People don’t need CFDA approval to be designers anymore. Law roach says he’s permanently banned the Big 5 brands, and I agree with him. We lent gowns to Law for Zendaya when the big 5 turned him down. Never underestimate who you may be meeting with.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
California has a lot of natural beauty. I would take them to see how truly beautiful the state of California is. There’s no other place in the entire world with the perfect weather California has. I would take them to the beach, and drive them up the Pacific coast highway from Crystal Cove to Malibu. If they want to see celebrities we’d eat Nobu. We’d go hiking at Runyon canyon. Go to a Dodgers game and eat dodger dogs. I’d take them to Erwhon, the grocery store with famous celebrity tik-tok drinks. Catch a concert at the amazing Hollywood bowl concert. Go see a movie on the chinese theaters IMAX screen. On a Sunday we’d go look for hidden gems at the Rose bowl swap meet. In the summer they show open air movies at the Hollywood forever cemetery. One of the most fun things to do in LA is drive around with your friends and look at all the lights. If you want a perfect vantage point, go up Mulholland and you get unbelievable views of the city and the valley.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My cousin Michael Costello was a great mentor, and a great person. He taught me so many tricks the industry doesn’t know, that a factory can’t teach. Shout out to MC for being an inspiration and friend!

Website: https://stelloofficial.com/collections/gowns-1

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stello/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Stello_Official

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