Presented by KOTTÉ
@cristobaleolo | cristobaleolo.com
Tell us about you and your brand.
I am Cristobal “Lalo” Gonzalez, the creative director and designer of Cristobal Eolo. I was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco Mexico and migrated to the United States with my mother as a young child. That’s when my fashion journey began. Growing up in the outskirt’s suburbia of NYC, I was always fascinated and inspired by the art, the beauty, the glamour, the obscurity, and the power of feminine energy. This newfound appreciation and desire to create led me to start an annual fashion show at my hometown high school.
This is where my passion and love for the craft flourished. Consequently, it brought me to a community school where I entered their fashion program. I achieved a scholarship and best in class, which led me to where I stand today. I have always designed with “femme wear” in mind—creating looks that transform the body with the strength and resilience of feminine power. Fashion can be an escape for people, empowering them throughout their daily lives.
The Cristobal Eolo brand was founded on sustainability, uniqueness, and individuality. My overall vision for the brand is to create “femme wear.” I believe in enhancing the feminine mien and creating aversion of a person that strives to be more than what we are told is acceptable. With fashion becoming more linear and uniform, I hope to encourage people to push the boundaries and embrace their uniqueness with clothing.
In addition, I aim to focus on spreading more awareness of the effects we have on the environment. With the fashion industry being one of the leading causes of pollution, the Cristobal Eolo brand strives to create sustainable fashion to create an eco-friendlier world. This includes using 40 to 50 percent recycled materials in each line to help reduce my carbon waste footprint. By using the waste materials to create, I am also able to design one-of-a-kind pieces.
If you could recreate the wardrobe for any film, which one would you choose and why?
It’s hard to choose one movie, but I would love to redo the wardrobe for The Craft. It’s one of my ultimate favorite movies. I think the girls could have made a bigger fashion statement with their uniforms to differentiate themselves from the rest of the school. I do think the wardrobe of Nancy was perfect throughout the whole movie, but the rest of cast needed a little more “witch”. I would want to show more of those details and use their clothing to add a little more rebellion amongst the group, especially in a Catholic school. This comes from my personal experience in trying to defy and not conform to the ideals I was being taught.
What has been the most memorable experience of your career?
I’ve had many unforgettable experiences throughout my career. However, one of my most memorable ones would have to be when I had the opportunity to dress two of my favorite singers, Alice Glass and Slayyyter, for Paper and Schön! Magazine. Everything was custom.
If you had full financial freedom, what five things would you do first?
The million-dollar question! I feel that creators struggle a lot financially, and for me, this is something that constantly comes up in my daydreaming moments. I have thought a lot about this and would want to help creatives with a monetarily push or platform to showcase the different ideas and interpretations of a more sustainable, creative future. I love creating fashion for anyone who enjoys expressing themselves through the art of clothing and storytelling. I want to create a movement that just allows everyone to freely express themselves.
In addition, I would love to give back to all the people who believed in and supported me because without them, this world would be much darker. I am lucky to have these people in my life and giving back to them would be my way of showing appreciation. Lastly, I would create programs for better ways to reduce fashion waste and create new technologies for the production of biodegradable fabrics to better serve the future of fashion and retail.
