Alejandro Arturo


COSTA

Fashion Design
Art Direction
Ceramics Fashion brand focusing on the tropical outdoors, field research and folklore that released collections using ceramics and fabric as principal materials.  

I developed this brand in 2017 and touched every part of the process: concepting, art direction, production, sales, graphic design, management. 

This allowed me to have great comprehension of what it takes to run a creative business. And now as a designer who collaborate with other brands and companies I’m empathetic in understanding the effort is put into each product launch, the investment to work with employees and the joy of creating something new. 



ENERGÍA / MATERIA



Water-proof jacket featuring custom patches.
Graphic T - Shirt with golden embroidery details.
UV resistant shirt with custom pattern. One of a kind.
Custom Patches embroided in Costa Rica. 
Poster for the Pop Up Shop in San José.
UV resistant shirt with custom pattern. One of a kind. Wooden buttons.
UV resistant shirt with custom pattern. One of a kind. Wooden buttons.

Ceramic vessel made of three different clays, no glaze applied.
Fast-Dry shorts, custom pattern. One of a kind.
Ceramics in the Pop Up Shop.
Custom Patches embroided in Costa Rica. 
Ceramic vessel made using three different clays, no glaze applied. 
The clay was brought from Mexico and then processed in Costa Rica with different pigments to achieve the desired colors.
I work alongside artisan Dennis R. to bring the production to life.
The workshop where we create the vessels is in Santa Ana, Costa Rica. One of the most prominent ceramic production locations in the country.


This collection is inspired in the idea of local and global imagination. The name itself of the brand is a question to Costa Rica’s name. Given by aliens. So this collection starts to explore the idea of new countries, new locations, new identities. How is arrive to a new place. What are the resources and the spirit needed to achive growth, community, union?

COSTA is also a brand to bring people closer to nature (to themselves) that’s why I chose to push the brand to produce outdoor clothing for the tropics, with UV protection, fast-dry and water-proof technologies. To encourage people to explore and connect with the enviroment. I felt the need to have a Tropical / Latin American brand creating a narrative with their own gaze. The other material, clay, and the product itself is an atempt to bring nature home and not just to get a plastic pot, but to have an special objet to hold this life, a small shrine to honor the vegetal life. 

Press article in spanish for further reading here 

Photo: Naza Quirós / Diego Ruiz






Milla Uno




COSTA Worldwide second collections is the result of exploring a bit of the costarican caribbean's history and legacy.









This collection is the result of exploring spiritual practices in Costa Rica during the 20th century, specific to the caribbean region. With a lot of influence from Jamaica, New Orleans and West Africa these practices were almost erased from the history of the country and basically deleted from the collective identity. 

The catholic church and the government at that time took the task to opress and exile the leaders of the Pocomía movement. Framing it as a satanic cult and blaming it for sacrifices and practices out of the law. 

Trough this collection I approached full of curiosity this topic and this landscape. The deep jungle, humid, overwhelming, full of spirits. Trying to reconnect with these energies that have been blocked, avoided and demonized. 

This was a rain season collection, featuring rain coats and more water-proof pieces.

Press article in spanish for further reading here






Contact me at 

alejandroarturo.monge@gmail.com