In the Studio With: Christian Cota

Designer Christian Cota has been a rising talent in New York for quite a while. He won the Rising Star Award from Fashion Group International back in 2009, and was selected as a finalist for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund in 2010. This year, however, promises big things for the Mexican designer, as he has just moved into a brand new studio at the CFDA’s prestigious Incubator space in the Garment District, which has been a launch pad for other rising stars like Prabal Gurung and Bibhu Mohapatra. He also had a big red carpet win this August when Jessica Biel wore one of his past spring looks for a Total Recall event — and looked pretty stunning, we should add.

At the Incubator, Cota will work alongside fellow designers like Timo Weiland and Ari Dein, with the help of mentors provided by the CFDA, and when we visited the designer in his new studio recently, it was clear his energy was already humming. Cota actually got his start in fashion by studying painting in Paris (before moving to New York to study at Parsons), and that raw creative energy is something he’s looking to get back in touch with for his Spring 2013 collection. Expect hand-painted items, lush prints, and above all, a confident brand of femininity.

Here, get an inside look at the designer’s studio and his Spring 2013 collection, as Cota reveals why he got into fashion in the first place.