The ever so talented designer, Henry Picado, made his way into fashion in a particularly unlikely manner.

“I was 7 years old and it happened with my grandmother,” Picado said. “We were walking along a street in Costa Rica and she simply stopped in front of a shop window and looked at one of the dresses on display.”

He described this experience as having marked him because it was the first time he had seen someone create something. His grandmother had been able to reproduce a replica of that dress with only a pair of scissors, a sewing machine and some fabric.

“From then on, I knew I wanted to become a fashion designer,” Picado said.

After working for several years under major fashion brands, Picado thought he had gained enough expertise and courage to establish his own fashion brand: ESTE & CHLO.

“I dressed models with other people’s designs, but I always felt like I deserved more,” Picado said.

He said that some of the major struggles he faced as a designer were “lies and hypocrisy.”

Although he is a house-hold name for A-list celebrities, Picado remains very humble and never forgets where he came from.

“I came to America with a $150 in my pockets and a big dream and here I am,” Picado said.

He said that the fashion world is ferocious and there are often people and friends trying to bring him down, yet he insists that he gets the support and love he needs from the women in his life.

“My wife, my daughter, my grandmother—these women mean the world to me and that is why I find pleasure in creating clothing for women,” Picado said. “They are such an important part of my life.”

ESTE & CHLO has had runways in major fashion capitals like Paris, Milan and New York. The designer’s appearance at the TFW will be his very first in Tucson.

“I am very excited to finally arrive in Tucson and see how the whole show turns out,” Picado said. “I am honored to have been invited by the organizers to display my collection and hope the audience is pleased as I am with it.”

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