Mark Zunino is Hollywood’s Couture Designer
There is an ever-present precision and attention to detail in the eye of couture designer, Mark Zunino, while he carefully structures a performance gown onto a triple-threat performer. As he gathers the fabric, modifies the layers of a train, and adjusts the bodice, the singer lets out a celestial melody that suffuses his Beverly Hills atelier. It was an atmosphere of artists.
Source: Beverly Hills Lifestyle Magazine
Zunino made his debut in the fashion industry under the guidance of Hollywood costume designer, Nolan Miller.
“I started out in architecture. Nolan Miller had asked one of my instructors for a recommendation for a design assistant, and she recommended me,” says Zunino. “I ended up going for an interview and got the job. I thought I would be there for maybe a year. As time moved on, I stayed and grew with the company.”
In 1984, Miller won an Emmy for his work on the hit television show Dynasty by Aaron Spelling, to which he credited Zunino’s designs as a key contribution.
“I never thought I would be a fashion designer, I had no concept,” he says. “I absorbed everything they wanted me to absorb, which for that show, was an American wealth aesthetic. We were making clothing that was far beyond what most American designers were making.”
Source: The New York Times
With this fond recognition at the beginning of the designer’s career, Zunino progressed in the fashion industry at such swift velocity, and he had to learn very quickly.
Referencing timelessness in his designs, magazines such as Brides, Fashion United, and Glamour have recognized Zunino for his work. Today, Zunino is a distinguished designer who is putting celebrities like Sofia Vergara and Ming-Na Wen on the red carpet in true Zunino fashion—captivatingly glamorous.
Source: Tom and Lorenzo
Zunino articulates his creative visions through couture elegance. As a designer, Zunino knows the importance of representing all ages and figures through design detail.
“My inspiration does not really come from a person. I get ideas from everything around me,” he says. “I think [for] anyone that is in design, you are so aware of everything around you, and you absorb everything. You just look at everything in an artistic way.”
Zunino strives to inspire young designers that have this artistic facet. He finds experiencing other countries and lifestyles to be a great modus operandi for expanding the imagination. “Ultimately, fashion is the universal language,” he affirms. “Once you start realizing why people in different countries gravitate towards different colors and silhouettes, it gives you ideas, and you start merging different ethnicities and different religions.”
Source: Instagram
For Zunino, finding inspiration from around the world brings cultures together through fashion. This is the first step of his design process.
“The part I love the most is sketching. I love sketching, it relaxes me, and that is the thing the clients love,” he says. “Doing it freehand for me is quicker, and it is basically artwork you are creating.”
When selling garments at a price point of $1000 and above, Zunino prefers to work one-on-one with the client. This way, his clients can follow along with the design process and be assured of the value of the design when walking away with a sketch before the garment is ready.
“It is psychologically trying to ease [the client] and get comfortable with [the client].” The designer states. “Anybody can learn to sketch, especially in their own style.”
Source: Instagram
Zunino finds sketching to be a source of tranquility, but also a mode of communication when working with clients. The designer is currently in the process of working on a collection of evening wear for the department store Dillard’s.
“What sold it was all the hand sketches,” Zunino says. “I had some finished garments and was going to photograph them, but the manufacturer said, ‘Send the actual sketches, the original artwork.’ And we did, and Dillard's loved it.”
And what of the final product, you might ask?
“I feel powerful. I feel like I am wearing the most beautiful piece of art,” says Breanna Murillo, the bridal account executive at Mark Zunino Atelier. “Everything with Mark is so detail-oriented down to a little stitch and curve of a seam. He really understands how to make a woman feel the best she can.”
Murillo and Zunino met at Kleinfeld, where at the time, Murillo was a bridal consultant on TLC’s Say Yes to The Dress, and Zunino was an exclusive designer for bridal couture.
“He is not just my boss,” Murillo says, “he is one of my best friends.”
Murillo tells of the atmosphere Zunino has created at the atelier: “It is always an adventure.” she laughs. “It is a very positive atmosphere, and it goes back to him being really open, allowing everyone to have a voice, and make an impact on the future of where this brand is going. It is a very welcoming environment.”
Working alongside Zunino, Murillo commends the designer for his good instinct, by knowing when to stand his ground, when to listen, and when to see a different perspective when needed.
“I think it is important when you are a leader,” Murillo states. “Whether it is a personal client or a celebrity, his main goal is to make sure that their vision comes to life.”
When succeeding in an industry as fast-paced as the fashion industry, it is important to network.
“Do everything. Talk with as many people as you can. It does not even have to be in the thought-out networking kind of way,” says Zunino. “You are sitting at the airport next to somebody? Strike up a conversation. You do not know what they do, they do not know what you do. You never know when things are going to start from that seed you plant.”
Making those connections is essential. With this comes a better understanding of the contemporary environment of the fashion industry.
“I think fashion forever changes, but everybody reprioritizes what they want for their life and in fashion,” the designer says. “Things have become more relaxed. They have become more comfortable, no matter what it is.”
Zunino actively practices his philosophy of fashion. He references this year’s Oscar and Grammy ceremonies.
“It is becoming more theatrical, more dreamlike. It makes everybody happy. It takes them out of their everyday life, and you step into a kind of over-the-top garment and become a character. I think people like that escape,” says Zunino. “There is nothing you can do that is wrong in fashion ever. It may not be loved by everybody, but it creates movement,” the designer includes.
Going against the grain in fashion is an odyssey, but nothing to subdue Zunino.
“The one thing nobody ever wants is sameness. You are never going to stand out by doing sameness,” he says. “I have gotten the farthest and stayed in business now 30 plus years, by doing everything people told me I could not do.”
“People in fashion [have told me] ‘That won't work. You can't do it that way.’ And if you have a gut instinct that, ‘Yes, I can do it this way.’ Do it. Because that is when you make the most movement. That is what is great about fashion. There really are no rules.”
For this designer, sustainability is huge. And he believes it is the direction every designer needs to go.
“The stumbling block right now that I see in it is versatility and fabrication. It is still limited and the price point to create mostly high-end sustainable fabrics is still crazy expensive. The price will come down the more everybody adapts to that concept.”
Stylist and PR director, Rene’ Horsch began working alongside Zunino at the Nolan Miller label. Today, he is a stylist and the head of public relations at the Zunino atelier.
“My job consists of anything from going to a client's home, to shopping for fabrics downtown. I do a lot of shopping in stores to complete an outfit with shoes, handbags, accessories, and jewelry,” Horsch says. “I wear many hats. I am constantly on the go, which is a lot of fun.”
Horsch adjudges Zunino’s design style. “His ability to work with others is fantastic,” Horsch continues, “He will work all hours of the night to make sure that something is right.”
Horsch speaks highly of Zunino for the space he has created in fashion for charitable causes such as the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, the Farrah Fawcett Foundation, and the John Wayne Cancer Foundation. He contributes gowns that the organizations auction off at fundraisers. Together, the charitable causes and the designer support continued research and illness prevention.
As a designer, Zunino believes it is imperative to listen to the client, not only for customer satisfaction but also for pushing a designer out of their comfort zone and breaking a cycle of consistent designs.
“When somebody that you are working with says, ‘I don't like that.’ and you love it, rather than saying, ‘Well, maybe we're not meant for each other.’ You work with them. ‘What about it don't you like? What would you like to see? Let's try this,’” says Zunino.
“You end up still within your wheelhouse of knowledge, creating something that is still you, but you have now bonded with that person you are working with.”
Zunino recalls when he first started in bridal couture at a time when the industry was more conservative.
“I started introducing unusual fabrications. I signed a contract with Kleinfeld in New York, and they were not ready for change. I kept hearing, ‘they're too evening, they're too red carpet,’” the designer recollects. “Well, now that is where the bridal industry has gone.”
Source: Instagram
Throughout his career, the designer has worked with stars like Sophia Loren and Elizabeth Taylor. Today, stars like Britney Spears, Beyoncé, and Angelina Jolie, to name a few, gravitate toward Zunino’s work.
Source: LA Times
“I always work directly with the celebrity,” Zunino confirms. “I will not make a garment and let a stylist take it to fit the celebrity. I will fit the celebrity, or it is just not going to happen.”
He continues. “Once I go to the celebrity, we bond because the celebrity realizes in order to be heard and get what they want, the quickest line to make that happen is right to the source.”
When Zunino and his celebrity clientele build that communication, there is a strong bond that endures.
“For the Oscars, Sofia Vergara texted me and said, ‘Remember I tried this dress on with you? I want that dress.’ And I went directly to her house and we made it happen.”
Source: Fashion Sizzle
Zunino knows the importance of new designers making first impressions in the industry and encourages them to persist to be heard.
“When you are designing for somebody, the night before or a couple of hours before the event where the celebrity is wearing it, start putting the sketch on your social media,” the designer advises. “When magazines and publications are trying to find who did the dress, they will know that it is yours.”
Zunino continues, “Do not ever hesitate to do it, and do not ever get bullied for doing it. That is how you are going to get your name out there and get heard.”
The life of a designer is glamorous. However, the work takes time, effort, and dedication. Zunino reflects on the emotions of seeing his designs on the red carpets and big stages.
“It is always cringing to me because it is like sending your little kid to school for the first day or they are going to be in a play. And you are like, ‘God, I hope everything works out. I hope everybody likes them.’”
Zunino is a firm believer in never giving up, always being persistent, and ignoring the no.
“It does not matter if you are doubting your talent, if you are doubting the direction you are going, if you are doubting your age,” he says. “It is irrelevant. Keep on going. It will happen. Passion is what will make you succeed in anything.”
If Zunino could give a piece of advice to his younger self, it would be to not doubt himself.
“You will get farther by doing all the things everyone tells you, ‘you can't.’ Plow through that and keep going forward.”