About David F. Zambrana

Costume Designer / Fashion Editor / Wardrobe Stylist / Visual Designer

David F. Zambrana is a costume designer, fashion editor, wardrobe stylist and visual designer based in Jersey City, working with clients in New York City and beyond. His practice spans film, television, theater, fashion editorial, advertising and retail environments.

His film career began with an assistant costume role on Spike Lee's He Got Game. He later worked as a fashion editor and art director for the Japanese magazines Men Mode and Couture, produced by The Doneger Group. That work included developing editorial concepts, directing photographers, scouting locations, casting talent and shaping each story's visual direction.

David designed costumes for Seeking, directed by Julie Dash and commissioned by the International African American Museum. His work for The Metropolitan Museum of Art includes Out / Side of Time, directed by Jenn Nkiru for Before We Could Fly: An Afrofuturist Period Room. These projects brought together period research, character and visual storytelling.

For the Brooklyn Academy of Music, he designed and styled a promotional campaign for The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window featuring Oscar Isaac and Rachel Brosnahan, with art direction by Andrew Sloat and cinematography by Reuben Kleiner. In theater, his costume design work includes the Off-Broadway musical F*ck7thGrade, based on the life and music of Jill Sobule and directed by Lisa Peterson.

Alongside his film and editorial work, David has developed a practice in visual display, retail styling and e-commerce product presentation. His experience includes MUJI and Nordstrom, with work ranging from mannequin styling and retail displays to ghost mannequin and flat-lay product styling.

Across these disciplines, his approach begins with the story: who the person is, what the clothing communicates and how it belongs within the larger image. Research, proportion, color and collaboration guide the work from concept through execution.