Fashion's Ghost Designers

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Complex Original

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Have you guys heard of Matteo Gottardi? No? THEN YOU AIN’T A REAL INDUSTRY INSIDER, MY DUDE. Gottardi is basically the Skillz (formerly Mad Skillz) of this fashion shit. You guys are probably way too young for this, but in, like, 2000, Skillz put out a song "Ghostwriter" that his label had to censor 'cause he put a bunch of rappers on blast for hiring ghostwriters. I feel like that isn’t that big a deal anymore since rappers have legit have stylists and shit and reference tracks are a dime a doze on YouTube (LOL at Biggie calling himself "Queen Bitch").

Anyways, I always wanted to be a ghostwriter. I felt, like, in exchange for working in the shadows you’d get paid really handsomely. As you can see, I've also always wanted to work in the shadows and get paid handsomely. Sadly, no one wants to use this stellar writing voice as their own.

Right, back to Gottardi. Dude has designed for everyone from Joseph Abboud to Rogan Gregory to Levi’s to Macy’s. For designers who license their names and labels to all sorts of diffusion lines, sunglasses, purses, and Pre-Fall collections, a ghost designer like Gottardi is heaven sent. Gottardi’s company, WRKSHOP, has its own design team and is currently even developing its own brand. THE GHOSTWRITER HAS HIS OWN GHOSTWRITERS.

To be honest, it isn’t that big a revelation that major design houses employ multitudes of unknown and unnamed designers. I mean, this is basically the entire conceit behind elusive cool guy brands like Maison Martin Margiela.

It's very possible we all glorify the concept of ghostwriters and ghostwriting because of that bangin' PBS show Ghostwriter. DON’T KNOCK THAT SHIT. THEY HAD THOSE COOL ASS PENS ON LANYARDS AND MADE READING FUN. ALSO, MY BOO JULIA STILES ONCE PLAYED A HACKER ON THAT SHOW IN CASE YOU DIDN'T KNOW.

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