Zaldy was born in Cheshire, Connecticut; his first name is Salvador but his parents called him Zaldy from birth. His grandmother sparked his interest in fashion.[13]
Zaldy walked runways for Thierry Mugler, Jean-Paul Gaultier, and Vivienne Westwood modeling women's clothing; he also modeled men's clothing in a Japanese advertising campaign for Paul Smith.[13] In 1995, Zaldy, in drag, starred in a Levi's television commercial. This advertisement was banned in the United States and was only shown late at night in the United Kingdom.[15] This Levi's advertisement was noted as marking a rise in the prominence of drag in pop culture.[4][16]
Various celebrities have worn Zaldy's clothing in notable photoshoots or on red carpets. Beyoncé wore a Zaldy dress on the cover of the November 2005 issue of Vanity Fair.[17] Film producer Lisa Maria Falcone, producer for 127 Hours, wore a Zaldy dress to the 83rd Academy Awards.[18][19]Kesha wore a Zaldy dress to the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards.[20]Chloe x Halle both wore Zaldy to the 2016 BET Hip Hop Awards; their stylist for the event, Zerina Akers, said: "I always like to use young, new talent, because I feel like we see so much of the same thing in fashion and on the red carpet. I thought it was fresh."[21]
The first stage costume Zaldy designed was for Lady Miss Kier, singer of Deee-Lite; she saw him at a club wearing a catsuit studded with mirrors and asked him to make her a similar outfit.[22] His first time designing stage outfits for an entire musical group was for Scissor Sisters's 2006 performance for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.[23] Zaldy later designed the costumes for the Japanese band Exile.[24]
Zaldy designs the gowns for RuPaul on RuPaul's Drag Race. He has three other team members and an assortment of other craftspeople such as painters, beaders, and graphic designers.[29][30]
He also appeared as a guest judge alongside Kesha on the season 9 episode "Makeovers: Crew Better Work",[38] and made a guest appearance in the season 12 episode "You Don't Know Me."[39] Zaldy also appeared as a guest judge on the RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars season 6 episode "Show Up Queen".
^Ortega, Kenny (director) (2009). Michael Jackson's This Is It. Columbia Pictures. Event occurs at 1:44:48. Costume Designer for Michael Jackson: Zaldy
^"The Costume Workshop". Cirque du Soleil. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved June 1, 2017. Zaldy Goco: Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL and Michael Jackson ONE and VOLTA
^Ekins, Richard (1997). Male Femaling: A Grounded Theory Approach to Cross-dressing and Sex-changing. London: Routledge. p. 164. ISBN9780415106252.
^"Caption: On the Cover". Vanity Fair. No. 543. November 2005. p. 88. Beyonce Knowles wears a dress by Zaldy and a bracelet by Louis Vuitton. Hair and makeup products by L'Oral. Hair by Kimberly Kimble. Makeup by Francesca Tolot. Manicure by Lisa Logan. Styled by Andrea Lieberman. Photographed exclusively for V.F. by Patrick Demarchelier in New York City, August 11, 2005.
^McLean, Bethany (July 2011). "Falcone Quest". Vanity Fair. Vol. 53, no. 7. This year, when 127 Hours was nominated for six Oscars, Lisa Maria wore to the award ceremony an elegant, one-shouldered column dress that was designed by her longtime friend Zaldy Goco.
^Johnson, Zach (September 12, 2012). "Ke$ha Unveils Glam Makeover at MTV Video Music Awards!". Us Weekly. "I wanted to look naked with some glitz on my bits," Ke$ha said of the Zaldy dress, which she accessorized with Prada shoes, a Marie Todd ring and Karma El Khalil rings and earrings.
^Bauck, Whitney (June 27, 2016). "Chloe x Halle Stylists Dish on the Teens' Coordinating BET Awards Looks: Exclusive". Billboard. Chloe was in a Zaldy dress and Steiger shoes. Halle wore a Zaldy dress as a top over Levi's Jeans with Off-White booties, and they both wore Messika jewelry. I always like to use young, new talent, because I feel like we see so much of the same thing in fashion and on the red carpet.
^"EXILE concert tour expected to draw 1.1 million fans". Japan Today. July 12, 2010. Meanwhile, Filipino fashion designer Zaldy Goco will be in charge of their costumes for the tour. Zaldy is well known for designing outfits for big stars, such as the late singer Michael Jackson and Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger, 66. It is the first time for Goco to produce costumes for Asian stars. He said his costumes will match the tour's title of "FANTASY."
^RuPaul (2010). "Acknowledgments: Zaldy". Workin' It! RuPaul's Guide to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Style. Harper Collins. For the past eighteen years, he has created my most extraordinary ensembles.
Carter, Lee (June 3, 2007). "Everyone loves Zaldy". The Independent. No. 901. pp. 52–53.
Feldman, Jenny (July 2005). "Notes From the Underground: Zaldy Goco Spins a Darkly Beautiful Signature Collection of Victorian-Goth Coats and Dresses". Elle. Vol. 20, no. 11. p. 38.
Kedves, Jan (2013). "Zaldy: Costume Designer, New York & Las Vegas". Talking Fashion: From Raf Simons to Nick Knight in their own Words. Munich: Prestel. pp. 116–121. ISBN978-3-7913-4823-0.
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