Esteban Cortazar

Esteban Cortázar (May 17, 1984) is a noted fashion designer. He was born in Bogotá, Colombia and grew up in Miami, Florida. Cortázar is the youngest designer to have shown at Miami International Fashion Week, where he decided for a talent show to host a fashion show. The child of jazz singer Dominique Vaughan and artist Valentino Cortázar, Esteban got his start in the fashion industry at 13 years of age when he showed sketches to Todd Oldham, a mentor he found under his apartment at Miami's News Café. While in New York for an Oldham show, Cortázar introduced himself to Bloomingdale's Director of Fashion Kal Ruttenstein, and soon afterward gave Ruttenstein a private showing. In December 2007, Cortázar was appointed Head Designer at Emanuel Ungaro where he worked until he was fired in 2009, after refusing to work with Lindsay Lohan. Lohan was appointed Artistic Director, and Cortázar was replaced by Estrella Archs, who left Ungaro after one year due to irreconcilable differences related to the creative direction of the brand. Cortázar studied fashion design at Design & Architecture Senior High in Miami's Design District, graduating in 2004.