You may remember Zaldy Goco as the long-locked brunette designer who helped Gwen Stefani through the first few seasons of L.A.M.B. The downtown fixture--who has been working in the industry in some form or another for two decades--also sat at the helm of his own namesake line from 2002-2006; that is, before he took on the gig of being costume designer to the stars. "From Rufus Wainwright to RuPaul, Mary J. Blige to Jennifer Lopez, and Mick Jagger to the Scissor Sisters, Zaldy’s fashion-meets-music resume is impressive and diverse indeed," says Business of Fashion, which recently sat down with the photogenic designer for a two-part interview (here and here). But, arguably his greatest gigs to date have been working with the late Michael Jackson and Lady Gaga.

('’)"I had never really worked with anyone else who had someone like Nicola or a creative director or that many advisers," Goco recalls. "But, the best thing about working with Gaga and meeting with her in the beginning was finding out how genuine those ideas were to her, whether or not it came from meetings with the Haus of Gaga." Speaking of, what is Haus of Gaga exactly? "I’m not even sure exactly what it is," Goco admits. "As she explained it to me, it’s the collective of people who come together to work with her creatively. But, it’s not as if she’s going to launch a fashion line or anything — at least that’s what she told me then." As for his designs for MJ (which were handpicked by the late star himself), "my approach was — referencing what we knew, but bringing more technology and new techniques that Michael had never used before." MJ's favorite, apparently was "the light-up outfit for Billie Jean, which was a collaboration with Philips Technology, which really, really made him the happiest." While Goco is back at work with the Scissor Sisters, there is a chance he'll bring his eponymous line back at some point soon. Of the possibility he says, "right now I am working on a gown for the Met Ball. So, let’s see."