By Augusto Morel |
Buenos Aires (EFE).- Jorge del Busto dressed actresses from the ‘red carpet’ such as Michael Learned, Carolyn Hennesy and Loretta Swit. Today these works of art, a trinomial of fabrics and beads that symbolize effort and tenacity, are kept among 11,000 other objects at the Hollywood Museum in Los Angeles.
The 53-year-old Argentine designer opens the doors of his ‘atelier’ in Buenos Aires to EFE to talk about a career of more than 20 years and his haute couture suits, including the three that are preserved at 1660 Highland Avenue in Los Angeles .
«I dressed them for the ‘red carpet’, with handmade garments and recycled materials. I think the dress that has cost me the most is that of Michael Learned, since he has almost a million beads and weighs between seven and ten kilos. They are unique garments, impossible to repeat them”, says Del Busto in the workshop.
Instead, the confection for Hennesy was hand-embroidered French lace over a metallic corset. “All a handmade work and most of the dress has curtains that were from my ‘living room'”, highlights the couturier, who, after having lived in the United States since he was 23 years old, cannot stop using Anglicisms.
Curiously, his first ‘stitches’ were in the world of ‘fitness’, since he began to stand out for his aptitude for competitive aerobic gymnastics, his physical condition and the imprint he gave to his outfits.
«I became one of the ‘tops’ of ‘fitness’ and social magazines. They always named me as one of the most stylish men in the city, in Chicago and Los Angeles, the mix of Argentine, I don’t know, a refined gaucho? tights and bright red Texan boots.
At the turn of the century, he was a gym instructor, and because his students often went to lunch to discuss business, he came up with the idea of making a line of semi-formal sportswear.
It could have been a precursor to that style that exploded in 2010, but he was already specializing in the life of haute couture, where it’s all about the details, fabrics, and craftsmanship.
“It depends on the bases. There are dresses that are structured, others already structured and similar to tunics, where the value is in the fabric and ease. They are made almost 100% by hand and with noble materials. It is a rule for it to be haute couture”, describes the designer.
Family nucleus
While many pray gratefully for the stimuli of creativity, Del Busto has his grandmother in mind as an inspiring muse, since she advised him to follow his dreams. She, he says, was his model of “impeccable presence” and “the typical woman who didn’t go out if she didn’t have her make-up, hair combed or well dressed.”
Born in Puerto Rico, a remote town in Misiones (northern Argentina), and raised in the Buenos Aires suburbs, he had to endure his father’s prejudice for having chosen his passion at the age of 12.
«I came up with a collection of about fourteen drawings, some done in watercolor, for a clothing line that came to me. My family loved it, until I showed it to my father. He tore up the sketches and burned them. He did not want to have a son who dedicated himself to doing this », he comments almost without giving it importance.
At the age of 21, he decided to pack his life in a bag and make his way in Asunción, where he was a physical education teacher. His facility with ‘fitness’ allowed him to specialize and broaden the scene when he moved to Sao Paulo, to finally settle in Chicago.
«Get together with people who can help you; If you want to succeed, you have to go where people are already succeeding,” was one of her grandmother’s advice, something she put into practice when she immigrated to North America. There she approached the necessary circles that could add value to the world in which she was interested in working.
‘his’ fashion
At the same time, he constantly sought training so as not to be left behind in the tyrannical fashion trends, but without losing his style. «These courses helped me to update myself. My creations have less to do with the seasons and more to do with what suits my clients”, she reaffirms.
Although fashion is cyclical, Del Busto has non-negotiable rules when creating, such as that “there are things that can be highlighted and there are things that have to be hidden, yes or yes.”
«Shoulders, neck and ‘bustier’ (chest), it is always something to highlight. No matter your age or weight, you can stand out without being vulgar”, she affirms, while defining the ideal model: “They have to be a hanger”, tall, slender, with no chest and elegant.
And he concludes: «There is never a real excuse to say: ‘I’m not going to dress well.’ You can always dress well.”
