Garo Sparo
Encyclopedia
Garo Sparo is an American
, New York City
based couture design house. Its founder and head designer Garo Sparo works with many of NYC's most colorful characters and renowned fashion icons. Sparo is also a television personality who stars on Unleashed by Garo broadcast on Sundance Channel.
, and began creating clothing at the age of eleven under the direction of a Native American
costume designer. In his teens he relocated to North Carolina and started designing hats, selling them at various venues under the name Garo Sparo Collection. In 1995 Absolut Vodka
sponsored one of Sparo's collections, bringing him wide visibility in New York
. This collection was followed by fashion shows at NYC nightlife venues Limelight
, Webster Hall
, Click+Drag and Jackie 60
.
In 2000 he opened the Garo Sparo Boutique on St. Mark's Place
in Manhattan
. At this time he began to focus heavily on corsetry
and custom couture. HIs clientele rapidly grew to include many burlesque
and drag
icons such as Miss Understood
, Hedda Lettuce
, Angie Pontani
, World Famous *BOB* and Sequinette
. He also has many clients who collect his custom day and evening wear such as fashion icon Daphne Guinness
and a long and growing list of many other dedicated clients. Garo's designs have also been featured in commercials, films, dance performances and art installations. He is the resident designer for New York production company and sister organization Screaming Queens Entertainment.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
based couture design house. Its founder and head designer Garo Sparo works with many of NYC's most colorful characters and renowned fashion icons. Sparo is also a television personality who stars on Unleashed by Garo broadcast on Sundance Channel.
Biography
Garo Sparo was born into a creative family of skilled artisans working mostly in beadwork and lacemaking. He grew up on the south shore of Long IslandLong Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, and began creating clothing at the age of eleven under the direction of a Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
costume designer. In his teens he relocated to North Carolina and started designing hats, selling them at various venues under the name Garo Sparo Collection. In 1995 Absolut Vodka
Absolut Vodka
Absolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, Skåne, in southern Sweden. Since July 2008 the company has been owned by the French firm Pernod Ricard who bought V&S Group from the Swedish government....
sponsored one of Sparo's collections, bringing him wide visibility in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. This collection was followed by fashion shows at NYC nightlife venues Limelight
Limelight
Limelight is a type of stage lighting once used in theatres and music halls. An intense illumination is created when an oxyhydrogen flame is directed at a cylinder of quicklime , which can be heated to 2572 °C before melting. The light is produced by a combination of incandescence and...
, Webster Hall
Webster Hall
Webster Hall is a nightclub located at 125 East 11th Street, between Third and Fourth Avenues, near Astor Place, in Manhattan, New York City. Built in 1886, its current incarnation was opened by the Ballinger Brothers in 1992...
, Click+Drag and Jackie 60
Jackie 60
Jackie 60 was a famous weekly party held every Tuesday in New York's Meatpacking District. Founded by DJ Johnny Dynell, writer Chi Chi Valenti, fashion designer Kitty Boots and dancer/choreographer Richard Move, who were later , joined by Brian Butterick AKA Hattie Hathaway. It served gay,...
.
In 2000 he opened the Garo Sparo Boutique on St. Mark's Place
St. Mark's Place (Manhattan)
Saint Mark's Place is a street in the East Village neighborhood of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is named after St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery on 10th Street at Second Avenue. St. Mark's Place, which is a section of 8th Street, runs from Third Avenue to Avenue A...
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. At this time he began to focus heavily on corsetry
Corsetry
Corsetry is the craft of making corsets and corset-like garments and accessories most of which incorporate stays. It is also a subfield of fashion that deals with those garments and accessories and it is common term used for those garments and accessories...
and custom couture. HIs clientele rapidly grew to include many burlesque
Burlesque
Burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects...
and drag
Drag (clothing)
Drag is used for any clothing carrying symbolic significance but usually referring to the clothing associated with one gender role when worn by a person of another gender. The origin of the term "drag" is unknown, but it may have originated in Polari, a gay street argot in England in the early...
icons such as Miss Understood
Miss Understood
Miss Understood is an American drag queen originally from Levittown, New York, who has been based in New York City since the late 1980s. She was a prominent figure in the East Village drag scene of the early 1990s which revolved around the legendary Pyramid Club and Wigstock, an annual open air...
, Hedda Lettuce
Hedda Lettuce
Hedda Lettuce is an American drag queen comedian and singer who lives and works in New York. A legitimate New York actor, Steven Polito, debuted his character Hedda Lettuce in 1991 on the Manhattan Cable TV show The Brenda and Glennda Show. He is one of few drag queens who actually sings live using...
, Angie Pontani
Angie Pontani
Angie Pontani is a contemporary burlesque dancer, choreographer, producer, and costumer based in Brooklyn, NY. She was crowned Miss Exotic World in 2008.-Biography:...
, World Famous *BOB* and Sequinette
Sequinette
Sequinette is an American female-to-female drag performer in Brooklyn, New York. She also works as a make-up artist and stylist for herself and other performers. She is the founder of the Coney Island Sweetheart Pet Pageant, an alternative beauty pageant for pets that raises funds for various...
. He also has many clients who collect his custom day and evening wear such as fashion icon Daphne Guinness
Daphne Guinness
The Honourable Daphne Diana Joan Suzannah Guinness is an artist of Irish, English, and French descent and an heiress of the Guinness family...
and a long and growing list of many other dedicated clients. Garo's designs have also been featured in commercials, films, dance performances and art installations. He is the resident designer for New York production company and sister organization Screaming Queens Entertainment.