Mara Hoffman (Q3281)
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Mara Hoffman is a fashion house from FMD.
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Mara Hoffman |
Mara Hoffman is a fashion house from FMD. |
Statements
Last season Mara Hoffman used her signature popcorn texture and florets to give visual expression to the explosive nature of passion. She took things in another direction for spring as she sought the beating heart of simplicity. “I’ve been really contemplating and playing with that idea,” she said during a walk-through. “How do we make it less complicated and get to the point? The point here is I’ll get you to point B in the most elegant and refined way I know how to do.”Hoffman offered two paths to your destination: One was metaphorically by way of the forest, the other more floral. Simplicity can refer to the absence of decoration, and the designer leaned into a sort of utilitarianism, though there was nothing rugged about a chic cloud white hemp suit nor a pair of railroad-stripe pants: Both were quite tactile. Hoffman’s commitment to sustainable practices has led her to work with many natural fibers (crisp hemp, soft and dense organic cotton), and she has developed a sort of language of textures. This season the surfaces of the materials seemed to refer back to nature; for example, a puckered material used for a black dress resembled bark.Of late, many of us are craving something to hold onto: a wish, a belief, or something more steadying like a hand or maybe a dress. In touching the body, clothing makes us aware of our flesh-and-blood existence; it also holds us in its embrace. Hoffman addressed that aspect of attire through the hero pieces in this collection, which curved, petal-like, around the body. The idea, said the designer, was to “bring some beautiful sculptural knowledge to the flower world.” She also had playfulness in mind, best expressed in the styling of a white button-down and a curvy black dress with an exaggerated ruffle (think ’80s proportions) that tapered from broad shoulders into a V-neck. Business below, party on top? Or a good read of the many roles women have to play? “We’re supposed to present one way, but on the inside things are kind of a mess, and I’ve been feeling like both versions of that,” the designer said. “There’s an undoneness too that I wish we could tell the truth about a little bit more.” Life is messy; Hoffman’s spring collection will clean you up nicely.
11 September 2023
Season after season we ask, and expect, designers to explain their inspirations, but a lot of nuance is lost in this line of inquiry. The process of taking in new information, images, energies, and experiences, sorting them, and using them as springboards to make something new is often a nonlinear process.Mara Hoffman’sTár-influenced—but not inspired—resort lineup is a case in point. You won’t find Lydia Tár anywhere among the popcorn textures, dramatic floral embellishments, and color-blocking, but the film did help Hoffman hone in on ideas of power, especially those related to the masculine/feminine aspects of dress. Tár was a stepping stone that led the designer in the direction of Lady Brett Ashley, the short-haired, bullfight watching character from Ernest Hemingway’s novel,The Sun Also Rises. This reference in turn bled into Pedro Almovódar’sTalk to Her, and suddenly the design direction announced itself. It’s “like the relationship between the matador and the flamenco, like where they come together,” Hoffman says. “We put the femme into the matador.”The exuberance of dance is captured in the color palette and the romance of floral embellishments on Hoffman’s famed popcorn dresses. Second-skin knit dresses and bosom-enhancing corset-tops turned up the heat while relaxed suiting and unconventional shirting exuded a cool factor. Hoffman also made a case for mixing swimwear and sartorial elements with both day and date-night options.
2 June 2023
The most dramatic piece in Mara Hoffman’s spring collection was a melon-sleeve dress with meandering, calligraphic passementerie that traced the female body (emphasizing the breasts particularly) with a Matisse-like hand. Hoffman is one of many designers surfacing the female form; she also celebrated it with those popular popcorn dresses, shown for spring with a dashing ruffle. But surfaces aren’t the only things Hoffman is about; the designer has dug her heels in on the subject of sustainability and, with that, a belief in slow fashion.Time is a central theme in fashion; the industry motto could be borrowed from Daft Punk: “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.” At the moment, Hoffman is feeling pulled in two directions. “There’s an inner kind of clock and voice going, ‘Transform! It’s time to move on, be something else,’” she said at a preview. “And then this other part is like, ‘No, it’s okay to go slow. Take your time, you can’t rush this transformation.’”Hoffman might be gathering inner strength for her next steps, but she didn’t slouch when it came to the spring collection. Yes, some of the silhouettes and treatments were familiar, but continuity is in line with the values of the brand. The designer said her focus for spring was on “giving vibrancy, attention to detail, and femininity and evolving where there’s room to evolve,” which isn’t a slacker’s agenda. Colored denim is cropping up in the fall collections, and for spring (this brand follows the see-now, buy-now model) Hoffman offered a fitted, sleeveless midi-dress in popsicle red. The idea of a bustier and pants, a modern take on tailoring, also felt right for the times.
22 February 2023
Mara Hoffman has a knack for maximizing location shoots. So successful was the designer at transforming Atlantic Beach in the Rockaways for her resort lookbook, followers and friends DM’d wanting to know the location of her glamorous escape. “I was like, if you only knew…” said Hoffman with a chuckle. It’s a cute story, but also a kind of metaphor for the designer’s mission to offer responsible designs that don’t compromise on quality or style. Sustainable clothing that doesn’t shout its credentials, in other words.But credentials they do have. This collection is especially swim-heavy, and that’s because Hoffman is the first designer to use Power Three by Pyratex for bathing suits. “It’s an excellent step forward, it eliminates nylon and polyester,” she explained. “Before 2015 we were using virgin materials and then shifted into recycled polyester and recycled nylon, which is awesome in some ways, not awesome in many ways. For instance, our regenerated nylon is made from ocean and landfill waste, but once you recycle it into a piece of fabric, it doesn’t go anywhere past that, so it sort of stops the system. Also, obviously microfibers, you’re still dealing with them. So Power Three is super exciting and has been a big work in progress for us; it mimics the attributes of your regular poly/nylon-type spandex, and has the same level of longevity, except it’s not using any polyester or nylon, which is a really exciting thing for the swim industry.”From an aesthetic point-of-view the color-blocked suits felt like a more geometric example of the curvilinear pattern-making Hoffman has been using with her popcorn textured creations. The designer is hoping people will use these swim pieces in their on-shore wardrobes as well; indeed, the “super-sexy” swim looks seem to work with what young people have turned into a year-round “hot girl summer” vibe.Deadstock fabrics were used for some of the other tried-and-true items. The freshest looking additions, like a striped shirt dress, functioned as cover-ups for the swimwear, which is what really made a splash this season.
7 November 2022
“Big Mama,” one of artist Elena Stonaker’s larger-than-life beaded denim sculptures, has taken up temporary residence in Mara Hoffman’s Lafayette Street boutique as part of an ongoing collaboration the designer has with Studio Archive Project. Soft sculpture is one of Stonaker’s signatures, and if you think about it, Hoffman’s kind of in the same line of work.The designer chose the Donald M. Kendall Sculpture Gardens at PepsiCo headquarters as the setting of her lookbook, and her dresses hold their own against works by the likes of Alexander Calder and Jean DuBuffet. Hoffman continued to use her size-inclusive popcorn dresses as color-blocked canvases; there are new solid color ones with scooped out backs for fall. A selection of knit dresses, some with portrait backs, and one that outlines the bust like two leaves of three-leaf clover, leave room for the wearer’s face to be the central focus.Hoffman said that the organic denim pieces (there were just three, so not a critical mass) were the closest to her own style. Most people will relate to the designer’s luxe polo sweater as a must-have autumn staple, but the heftiness of printed padded robe coats muddled the message about effortless comfort. The stars of the show were crisply tailored, yet easy pants suits of recycled cotton—one sage-colored, the other saffron hued—that might even convince “Big Mama,” who is in her birthday suit, to get dressed.What isn’t visible to the eye, but is a draw to customers, is all the effort Hoffman puts into responsible design. While recognizing that it’s impossible to be entirely sustainable, Hoffman believes that there will never “be a point on this planet that the role of the artist, the innovator, the designer, the creative, isn’t essential to our evolution.” And she has hope in the innovators coming up. “I think for a long time, we weren’t [as designers] tasked with solutions, we were just given free reign on ego, and now designers have a whole different responsibility. Students have to problem solve, they don’t just get to express their inner parts, like, ‘this is what I think is beautiful.’ ” Hoffman is a bridge between the old way of doing things and the new. “I’m happy being an alternative for the time being,” Hoffman says. “It’s a big part of what brings customers to us and why they’re paying our price points. People care.”
8 September 2022
Staten Island is an often overlooked New York City borough that seems to be brimming with unexpected treasures. Leave it to the curious eye of Mara Hoffman to discover some baroque interiors there and use them for a close-to-home getaway location for her pre-fall look book. The collection offers straightforward but charming propositions for summer dressing based, she said, on what customers like and want. As she spends a lot of time in her art- and plant-filled Soho boutique, she’s not just guessing what those are.“It’s sexy. It’s joyful. It’s summertime,” Hoffman said as she presented the lineup. Popcorn pieces, which accommodate a large range of sizes, predominate here and there’s an embarrassment of riches when it comes to the variety of them. How to choose among a stretchy color-blocked sheath in popsicle colors, a mini siren dress in cinnamon hotshot red, or a date-night LBD? Even cheekier is a white number with floral “pasties.”When it comes to bathing suits (another strong category for the brand), the emphasis is on a lot of leg; cuts venture above the hip bone. A series of neat hemp-pieces, including a requisite dress with cut-outs, are destined for some cool customers indeed.
8 June 2022
“I was thinking about Pedro Almdóvar heroines,” explained Mara Hoffman, who shot her spring lookbook in Miami. It was the ideal setting for a collection that had hints of 1980s volumes, patterns, and colors—but was made consciously, in response to the current climate crisis.It’s been about seven years since the designer decided to take her brand in a new direction by focusing on sustainability (in terms of material and community) and more trend-resistant “core” pieces, like workwear-ish jumpsuits and swimwear that are repeated time and again. “We really actually do a lot of just very easy, wearable pieces and it always comes down to the styling,” said Hoffman, standing in her plant-filled new store on Lafayette Street. Helping customers zhoosh their looks there is aiding the designer as she expands the size range of her offering.Hoffman’s aim for spring was to “harness deep femininity, sensuality, ownership, and strength,” and she did so with bold-shouldered dresses, high-cut swimsuits, and crisp suiting. It was easy to see how a one-sleeve spiral top (resembling a shell) paired with white jeans would be ideal for a beachy summer date, and a red, body-skimming popcorn knit dress for a night on the town. More relaxed was a pair of pleated trousers, inspired by those the designer’s father wore. For the lookbook these were styled with a just-for-show bra Hoffman made out of 1980s earrings. For similar dramatic effect, tailored hemp jackets were worn open to reveal pasties. (One wonders if this is the logical progression from the jacket and bra look of summer 2021.) “It’s also the humor of this idea of these earthy fibers combined with this outward sensuality and exposure,” Hoffman said. “And I appreciate those contrasts and the masculine and feminine working together constantly.” That’s the modern mix.
1 March 2022
Several years ago, Mara Hoffman was known for her vibrant digital prints, the kind that made a statement but weren’t exactly everyday wearable. Now she specializes in versatile but considered pieces you can wear constantly without losing interest. Her ribbed knits have sculpted (but not stiff) shoulders; her tailoring is cut oversized and drapey; and even the most basic items come in a curious texture, like her best-selling smocked Tencel “popcorn” dresses. Curve-hugging and often blocked with swirls of color, they’re comfy and casual and joyfully celebrate the female form. Their reputation among people of all ages and sizes even landed the dress onVogue’s September cover, modeled by Japanese-Dutch model Yumi Nu (who also happens to be the first Asian curve model to appear in the magazine).The dress unsurprisingly features in Hoffman’s fall 2021 collection, which is arriving online and in stores this week. Where Nu’s version came in shades of bright cherry and peony, fall’s is black and ivory, in keeping with the designer’s calmer, more grounded palette. Splitting her time between upstate New York and Manhattan got her thinking about pieces that could work in both places: That dress is one, ditto the padded trench coats, sculpted sweaters, and new straight-leg chinos. Hoffman pointed out that the pants are also 100% recycled cotton, a trickier achievement than it may sound; in the past, recycled cotton fibers were prone to pilling, but she insisted these are velvety and made to last.Incorporating more recycled fibers like cotton is a top-line goal for Hoffman, in part due to the rising demand for organic cotton. The padded coats were filled with recycled Thinsulate, and her ribbed turtlenecks were a downy blend of cashmere and wool spun from existing sweaters. Those who can’t give up their sweats will be happy to hear that the gray pullover and jumpsuit were made of cotton terry on its second or third life, too.
9 September 2021
For years, Mara Hoffman has iterated on modal dresses she describes as having a “popcorn” texture. Others might compare it to bubble wrap. Does that sound appealing? On paper, maybe not, but IRL, those dresses fly off the racks for their bold color and softness. They’re soft in texture—modal being an extra-buttery cellulosic fiber—and in their curve-hugging silhouettes. Unlike a bandage dress or flat-weave fabric, Hoffman’s popcorn dresses contour the body without being overly revealing.For pre-fall, which is arriving in stores this week, Hoffman introduced a new popcorn dress that’s shorter than ever. In a swirly color-block of yellow, turquoise, and fiery orange, it’s a “re-emerging” dress that could lure in new customers and tempt existing clients to try something a little sexier. This season’s swimsuits and bold digital prints—an early 2010s Hoffman signature—will get them out of their comfort zone, too. In a palette of lilac, emerald, cherry, and saffron, pre-fall’s standout tropical motif nodded to Hoffman’s print-focused past while also relating to her eco-minded present: It’s cut in 100% organic cotton. The swimsuit versions—including a barely-there string bikini and a high-rise bandeau set—are offered in a blend of recycled polyester with built-in UPF 50+ protection.
18 June 2021
Designers, retailers, editors, and consumers have spent the past year in conversation about what needs to change in our industry. The pandemic revealed the cracks in the system; in some cases, it deepened them. We need better diversity practices, real sustainability commitments, and increased transparency, but we’ve also agreed that we simply need less stuff. Early on, designers called for dramatic alterations to the retail cycle, and brands high and low have extolled the virtues of a “fewer, better” approach, vowing to create smaller, more infrequent collections with items they truly believe in.How does it jibe with the breakneck news cycle and social media pressures of 2021? Stories feel old within a matter of days; by the time this month’s fall 2021 collections are in stores, many of them will feel tired. It’s one thing to talk about slowing down and producing less, but how do you keep people interested without that constant newness?All of this has been on Mara Hoffman’s mind. Last October, when most designers had just shown their spring 2021 collections, she couldn’t wrap her mind around making anything new. She still had so much inventory from past seasons—and more importantly, she still believed in those clothes. A few months shouldn’t render them waste, so she restyled them in her resort 2021 look book and sold them on her site immediately. The intention was partly to reflect the moment—and it was an anxious, messy moment—but also to start a conversation about longevity, novelty, and volume. How much clothing do we really need? And how far can we push that linen jacket, high-rise bikini, or printed sarong?Spring 2021 is a similar “in season” experiment, mixing past-collection items with a few new designs made with leftover textiles in Hoffman’s studio. Loyal customers will recognize the “popcorn” Tencel in cherry and bubblegum pink, as well as the earthy zebra-striped organic cotton. A tie-front blouse in ivory or poppy linen was probably a repeat silhouette, but honestly, who cares? It looked fresh pushed off the shoulders and styled with kitschy shell jewelry, all handmade by Hoffman and her friend, Pamela Love, with old beach finds.Hoffman embraced quirk, color, and lots of skin, capturing the heat and radiance of summer at a time when we’re so desperately craving it. To that end, she also mixed her popular swimwear line with her ready-to-wear for the first time.
Wearing bikini tops and maillots as “real clothes” became something of a trend in New York last summer, ideal for beating the heat and humidity of our extremely outdoor lives. Hoffman is ready for those glistening afternoons; she joked that if tanning beds weren’t so disastrous for your health, she’d install one in her house in lieu of a trip to Tahiti or Jamaica.As New York gradually warms up, you can count on seeing her in her cotton button-down and easy trousers in a barely there shade of blush; she explained they were tinted with rose petals. An artist pressed and rolled dozens of them into the fabric, so each garment will have a one-of-a-kind finish. It’s Hoffman’s next experiment in organic, natural, regenerative fabrics, following resort’s Climate Beneficial wool sweaters made in partnership with Fibershed. That project is expanding for fall 2021 (though we probably won’t see it until closer to the in-store dates), and Hoffman is hoping to do more natural dyes in the future.See? Not that much newness, but plenty of news and lots to look forward to.
16 October 2020
Designers, editors, and buyers were complaining about the fashion calendar long before the pandemic upended our industry. As the pace of fashion—and the world—sped up, the concept of seeing clothes six months before they’d be available felt incongruous. Now, we aren’t confident about what will happen next week, let alone a full season into the future. Still, Vogue Runway covered two hundred resort 2021 collections that attempted to do just that. There were some genuinely thoughtful ideas and flashes of optimism, but it was hard to ignore the irony of applying the “old model” to our very new, uncertain world.Mara Hoffman wasn’t just reluctant to predict what our lives might look like in a few months. She also had tons of clothes that either never made it to stores or spent little time on the shelves; figuring out what to do with them felt more pressing than producing a whole new collection. “The concept of making more things to alleviate us from what we already have…. That’s what got us here in the first place,” she explained, referring to fashion’s problems of excess and waste. Instead, Hoffman and her friend Rachael Wang took stock of her current inventory, then re-styled and re-contextualized it to create a look book that reflects our current moment. In lieu of making a grandiose statement about “what’s next,” it captures the uncertainty and the “messiness,” as Hoffman put it, of right now.That came through first in the collaged format of the images. Hoffman photographed models in her upstate New York home and took snaps of her favorite books, houseplants, and the surrounding forests and mushrooms, then cut them all up and layered them together. The clothes themselves were also layered, and styled in a comfortable, casual, offhand way that mirrors how we put ourselves together at home. A rumpled striped linen suit from spring 2020 got a second chance, as did a black sculptural knit dress from fall 2020. Other looks mashed together seasons and years, with best-sellers next to items you may have missed (all made to Hoffman’s sustainability standards, mostly in natural fibers like Tencel, alpaca, and linen). One of the only brand-new items was also the most exciting: a fluffy ivory sweater knitted from wool sourced from a regenerative farm in California. It’s the first glimpse of an ongoing partnership with the Climate Beneficial program at Fibershed, a nonprofit that develops regenerative fiber systems and connects farmers with designers and manufacturers.
(Hoffman isn’t the only designer getting into “regenerative ag”; Gucci recently announced it would invest in regenerative agriculture as part of an effort to offset its emissions.)In addition to making a statement about waste and newness, this project is Hoffman’s first experiment in a “buy-now-wear-now” model. She will release these pieces over the course of the next few months and plans to do the same with her future collections. It’s a decision made for her customer, and her next goal is to offer similarly friendly prices. By trimming her brand’s wholesale accounts from a few hundred to just 10, she’s confident she can eliminate certain retail margins and align style and sustainability in an accessible way.
15 October 2020
Just when the stress of New York Fashion Week is starting to settle in—the mountain of deadlines, the lack of sleep, the frantic emails, the traffic, the unpredictable weather—a visit to Mara Hoffman’s studio will remind you to take it easy. That was quite literally her advice for me this season, following a conversation about Deepak Chopra’s enlightening new bookMetahumanand the industry’s changing outlook on fashion’s impact and purpose. Hoffman got a head start on that part, having overhauled her business in 2015 to shift to a sustainable supply chain and reduce the size of her collections. Since then, she prioritizes organic, recycled, and low-impact materials, and designs garments that feel robust and purposeful, yet timeless and easy to wear. Anything she feels isn’t 100% necessary gets cut, even if that means the showroom isn’t lined with six racks of options for press and buyers.Her steadfast approach can’t be easy when much of the industry still operates on a backwards, antiquated model. And given the “trend” for sustainability throughout the industry—from luxury houses to Brooklyn upstarts piecing together scraps of deadstock— you’d forgive Hoffman for getting a little frustrated at times. She finds her motivation in her community of engaged, passionate customers and fans, many of whom interact with her at the events she hosts with climate activists, women’s advocacy groups, and likeminded fashion folks. That community will soon have a new place to gather: Hoffman is opening her first store in downtown New York later this year.Hopefully it will be ready by the time her strong, tightly-edited fall collection ships. There were pieces that have almost become “basics” for Hoffman, like her big-shouldered blouses, sculpted knits, and pleated trousers (cinched here with an incredible vintage belt from her own closet). A few dresses had sweetheart necklines that curved upwards and outwards into low, rounded sleeves, offering an artful twist on the LBD. The most exciting developments were the suits: The collection opened with a lilac wool blazer and trousers, styled with giant gold earrings and a scarf-neck blouse; she’s still feeling the ’80s. The color was gorgeous, and the wool was 100% recycled from off-cuts that would normally be thrown out. Hoffman explained how the factories pile up their scraps according to color, then spin them all into new threads.
If you look closely, the lilac isn’t a flat, consistent hue, but actually sprinkled with all the varying shades.
6 February 2020
Mara Hoffman is the first to tell you there aren’t any wild new fabric developments in her Spring 2020 collection. Her dedication to sustainability trumps the archaic retailer mandates to “make X of this and Y of that” and to retire a fabric or silhouette as soon as you’ve introduced it to the customer. All of that by-the-book rule-following inevitably leads to excess—unsold merchandise, unused samples, and leftover fabrics, which means a waste of resources and water too. To avoid all of that, Hoffman works in a relatively narrow range of materials: linen, modal, hemp, alpaca, cotton, Tencel, lyocell—all organic or recycled, obviously. They’re natural, feel-good textiles that lend themselves to manipulation. Spring 2020’s standout dresses were smocked and ruched: Two curve-hugging styles were smocked all over—see the full-sleeve dress aswirl with red, blue, and saffron—while a breezier caftan was gathered loosely down the center.Hoffman said she was thinking about what a woman might have worn on vacation in Greece in the ’80s—those vibes come through in the big sleeves, nipped waists, and Ionic-inspired embroidery—but she almost cringed at how that far-flung inspiration could be perceived as a little out of touch. “Really, we shouldn’t be going anywhere,” she said, referring to the carbon footprint of a transatlantic flight. Not traveling isn’t realistic for most of us, but if your suitcase is filled with the kind of dreamy, sustainably made pieces she’s producing, it’s a start.
5 September 2019
A few hours after leaving Mara Hoffman’s sun-soaked Union Square studio, it dawned on this reviewer that sustainability hadn’t come up once. That’s a good thing. While there’s always more to say about organic, plant-based, and recycled materials—Hoffman uses lots of hemp, alpaca, and Tencel, and much of her swimwear is made with regenerated nylon—her real goal is for her designs to be the main draw. Resort’s sculptural knits, poplin dresses, and snug, portrait-collar jackets will qualify as surprising yet wearable items, regardless of whether you’re up to speed on Hoffman’s earth-loving missive.Bigger surprises included the bold, python-printed dresses and a 3-D rose crop top. At any other brand, the latter could feel downright risqué, but Hoffman’s customer will wear it as it’s styled here: with loose ivory jeans and flats. But maybe it’s a disservice to consider Hoffman’s clothes only in the context of the diaphanous, dreamy, typically loose silhouettes she’s so known for. Sure, she cuts a great oversize suit, but there’s always been a sense of warmth and sensuality at the heart of her label. It peeks through in Resort’s new square-neck bodysuits, zipped-up denim skirts, and ribbed knit dresses with “magic boob” details (i.e. ribs in concentric rings around the bust, a nod to Jean Paul Gaultier’s ’90s sweaters, Hoffman said). They’re pieces that would make you feel sexy without being overexposed, and that would nudge you to embrace your femininity and inner magic.Speaking of magic, Hoffman has always been into female energy, spirituality, and mysticism, so Resort’s shoot location was quite literally her dream come true. She’s been going upstate for years, but only recently stumbled upon Roy Kanwit’s Taconic Sculpture Park, where enormous marble and limestone heads, dragons, and otherworldly beings are hidden among the trees. Kanwit has described them as a connection between the earth and the heavens, and he seems to regard nature in a specifically feminine context; one of the heads is described as a woman he named “Mother Earth.”That ties in with Hoffman’s sustainable, low-impact materials: She wants to be able to walk among those statues and meditate on their significance without feeling like she’s doing something contradictory with her own brand. By now, she should feel more than confident.
5 June 2019
When Mara Hoffman overhauled her business in 2016 and started over as a sustainable, eco-conscious label, it registered as an enormous risk. Buyers weren’t thrilled about the slightly higher price points of her softer, earthier new pieces, nor were they entirely convinced that it was important to support organic fabrics and low-impact production. Hoffman was unwavering, though, and somewhat prophetic: In 2019, sustainability has become one of the biggest conversations in fashion. You can’t go off about climate change on Twitter and then design clothes made from plastic and toxic dyes. Designers continue to follow Hoffman’s lead, and on Monday night she’s being honored by New York Fashion Week and Repreve (which makes fabric out of recycled plastic bottles) as a Champion of Sustainability.It’s a big deal to get that kind of recognition, and, considering Hoffman’s influence on the movement, you could say it’s been a long time coming. But the designer remains extremely careful about how she discusses sustainability, both in real life and on her Instagram. She doesn’t want her customers to feel like they’re being preached to, and she wouldn’t dream of stripping the clothes of all their fun and fantasy, either. When you’re considering a pair of Hoffman’s jeans (made from hemp!) or a slinky dress in Tencel (an ultra-soft fiber derived from wood), it’s ultimately still an emotional purchase. Rather than shout about all of her good intentions, she’s working on lessening her footprint in ways you’ll never see or hear about: In addition to the natural and recycled fabrics she sourced for Fall 2019, she reported that the entire collection was smaller than usual, a concerted effort to reduce waste. Typically, a percentage of items never get produced, but sampling them is a high-cost, high-impact process.The biggest surprises for Fall were the items in a sheer, diaphanous Tencel, like the pale pink tiered skirt and long-sleeved tee that opened the lookbook. They felt a bit more romantic and old world than Hoffman’s usual fare—the zip-front denim dresses and buffalo-check blazers will be more familiar to her fans—and it was nice to see something new and different in a low-key showroom appointment. It’s a treat to see the clothes one-on-one with Hoffman, but it helps to watch the clothes come alive, particularly on the diverse lineup of models and dancers Hoffman tends to cast. (Last year’s NYFW presentation comes to mind.
) One of the ladies in this lookbook had gray hair and appeared to be older than 40, a rarity in an industry that prides itself on inclusivity. She looked calm and cool in Hoffman’s puffed-sleeve dresses and bodysuits; consider it the first answer to a question my colleague Steff Yotkaaskedearlier this week: Where are the MILFs?
8 February 2019
If you know Mara Hoffman—or even just follow her on Instagram—you’re aware that her work is about more than just clothes. She’s vocal about the environment, women’s rights, and spirituality, too, and has shifted her business so she can make her own rules to reflect those beliefs. A few years ago, she relaunched her brand with a new, sustainable missive, using natural fabrics and approaching fashion collections in a more thoughtful, conscious way. The risk paid off; her puff-sleeved dresses and earthy linen separates are all over New York, and she’s become a leader in the sustainable fashion movement.Her rule-breaking tendencies apply to Fashion Week, as well. Sometimes Hoffman will skip the drama and host private appointments in her showroom, and other seasons she’ll stage an unconventional show or presentation. This afternoon she referred to her event as a “funeral.” Say what? Models weren’t in coffins or dressed like ghouls. But there were massive piles of dirt throughout the space and vignettes of women surrounded by funereal lilies. A few of the models were dancers, and each seemed to be doing her own private, slightly strange performance. There wasn’t a specific event or moment that got Hoffman thinking about hosting a fashion funeral; she said she was just trying to find a way to bring all of her passions together—fashion, spirituality, the earth—and bury any negativity at the same time. “I knew it had to be about letting go of grief and putting it back into the earth, where it can be reabsorbed and grow into something else,” she said.There was a palpable energy in the room, perhaps because Hoffman had shattered the invisible barrier between designer and audience. Everyone was getting a sense of the “real” designer, not just the clothes she makes. But about those clothes—Hoffman introduced a lot of newness here, starting with the opening number: a graphic, hand-embroidered dress with a fitted bodice and giant sleeves. A similar dress came in an ivory eyelet made from a recycled cotton blend, and there was a sleek, long-sleeved dress that could be unzipped into a long jacket. On that note, the cropped, full-sleeved boleros were an exciting development, too.Hoffman pointed to one of the simplest looks as her favorite: an ivory off-the-shoulder knit, paired with high-rise, pleated ivory trousers. It was refreshingly bare and unfussy—ditto the slinky, semi-sheer knit camisole tucked into a cream midi skirt.
Both outfits were cinched with a wide vintage belt and seemed to signal a shift toward minimal, no-frills day dressing. For events that do require a major statement, we’ll have Hoffman’s Frida Kahlo look, a paper bag–waist, embroidered ball skirt with a single-sleeve blouse tucked into it.
7 September 2018
Mara Hoffman’s collections have gradually become more in line with her own style. Most days, her “uniform” is a slightly oversize white button-down, vintage Levi’s, leather flats, and gold jewelry—an easy, elegant look plenty of women can relate to. But recently, Hoffman’s been feeling more of an Italian-countryside vibe, swapping in lots of beige linen, big leather belts, and—more surprisingly—some feminine silhouettes.After a few seasons of boyish corduroy suits and lean, straight-cut dresses, Hoffman is into a nipped waist again. For Resort 2019, that came in the form of linen bustiers layered over ribbed knits; a voluminous blush pleated midi skirt; and a sweeter twist on her corduroy blazer: a creamy, wide-wale jacket with puffed sleeves and big buttons. Unlike some designers who show just a fraction of their collection but have a dozen racks of extra “commercial” pieces, these items made up the bulk of Resort; Hoffman spent a lot of time editing out the pieces that felt superfluous. The ones left were quite simple, but still felt nuanced and special enough to warrant a purchase in November or December.On that note, Hoffman’s customers who are planning tropical vacations during that time should bookmark the single print in this collection: a vibrant, blown-up floral in saturated Mediterranean hues. The flowery asymmetrical dress in particular would be great for a holiday beach party. A bit subtler was the bias-cut poppy slip, which had a silky sheen but was made with Hoffman’s ethical “silk alternative,” a luminous Tencel blend.
9 June 2018
Fashion in 2018 has to be about more than just clothes. For Mara Hoffman, bringing thoughtfulness into her work comes naturally. She’s a major proponent of the women’s movement, art initiatives, and inclusive politics, and since 2016, her collections have started to mirror those values. Fall 2018 marks Hoffman’s sixth outing since shifting her brand toward a more sustainable, ethical, and intentional future—intentionalbeing the key word. In addition to her new low-waste and recycled fabrics, she wants to educate women about buying fewer pieces and keeping them longer—if not forever.Her Fall lineup was full of the kinds of special, timeless items that can anchor a wardrobe. There was an earthiness to the rich, sunset-y colors and loose silhouettes, plus a touch of Americana in the vibrant, blown-up gingham checks. Hoffman called it her “love letter to America—both the land itself and its people.” It was a welcome bit of positive energy at a time when plenty of ugly things are happening in the country.Hoffman also photographed the lookbook herself in the desert, so it arguably reflects her vision more clearly than any prior collection. The biggest story was color-blocking, which is quickly becoming the designer’s new signature. A few standout coats came in rich shades of forest green, black, and rust, and her solid pieces (like cozy alpaca sweaters and roomy blouses) lent themselves to being mixed and matched for DIY blocking. The fabrics are where Hoffman zeroes in on her carbon footprint: She no longer uses silk (it kills the worms), and the luminous Tencel she swapped in was just as smooth and glossy—and more substantial, too. She also replaced regular jersey with Refibra, a new-to-the-market material made from cotton scraps left over from woodcutting operations. And since denim is notorious for its high water use, she found an alternative for Fall: hemp and organic-cotton denim. Hemp isn’t just natural and pesticide-free, but it requires little water to harvest. Hoffman’s hemp jeans had the vintage-y look of rigid cotton, but were surprisingly soft and light—no painful breaking-in necessary.
8 February 2018
Spring marks a year since Mara Hoffman upended her business and embarked on the next phase of her label: one that would be more sustainable, more thoughtful, and more elegant, too. It was a ballsy move, for lack of a better word, not only because she changed her fabrics, supply chain, and sales strategy, but because she changed her aesthetic, too. Out with the body-con and graphic prints; in with the midi dresses and organic linen! Some retailers were hesitant to buy into the new, more chilled-out Mara Hoffman, but the ones that stuck around have seen the label grow and attract new, sophisticated customers—all while doing minimal harm to the earth.For Spring, Hoffman continued to strip away the excesses and focus on high-quality, recycled, and organic fabrics and super-rich colors. To wit, some of the prettiest pieces were the simplest: a white linen dress with soft boning through the waist with big, full sleeves and a row of dark buttons; a handful of Tencel-linen trousers in sky blue, persimmon, and lemon; a slip dress in the clearest shade of sapphire. Up close, it felt like ultra-glossy satin, but it wasn’t—Hoffman no longer uses silk, so she found a longer-filament fiber that “replicates the feeling of silk without the harm.” A tiered cantaloupe dress in the same material looked like liquid sunlight on a gray rainy day.On the wild side of things were dresses and skirts covered in multicolored embroideries and separates in a vibrant, painterly floral print. Hoffman name-checked artist Kerry James Marshall as a reference, but the bright colors and prints were also meant to simply evoke joy. After all, it’s nearly impossible to take yourself too seriously in a rainbow-floral dress—so why bother trying?
7 September 2017
Mara Hoffman is one of the grooviest designers in New York, plain and simple. Not only does she create cool, vibrant clothes for cool, vibrant women, but she’s on a mission to make her clothes as sustainable as possible, too. (She’s also dedicated to activism and women’s issues, but that’s a story for another time.) Her sustainability angle starts with organic fabrics like cotton, linen, and Tencel, as well as specific eco-friendly production practices. But it also comes down to simply designing and producing less. “We don’t need to offer 12 options in one fabrication anymore,” she explained. “When you produce all these samples, and a certain percentage of [the pieces] might not even get produced, it just leads to more waste.” Other designers have said as much, but it’s hard to actually make the change and challenge what’s “normal” in the industry. Hoffman’s Resort collection should help pave the way; it made the case for editing, editing, editing a collection to its most essential, irresistible pieces.The tight lineup continued in the soft, breezy aesthetic Hoffman has been building since last Resort, with an emphasis on clothes you can buy and wear all year round. “This idea that Resort should only be for women going on vacations in November and December . . . I don’t think people are doing that right now,” she said. If you do have a tropical getaway planned for next winter—or you’re lucky to live in a warm climate—her one-sleeved dresses and wrap-effect jumpsuits should be on your wish list. But if you’re staying home, you can just as easily wear those pieces in colder temps, too, by layering in Hoffman’s new Crayola-hued ribbed knits. Her graphic striped dresses and lavender suit would be particularly tempting on a gray, chilly morning.
6 June 2017
Hillary Clinton is speaking at the Oscar de la Renta Forever Stamp ceremony on Thursday, but she isn’t the only political hero we’ll have the privilege of seeing this week. Mara Hoffman’s show opened with a moving speech by Tamika D. Mallory, Linda Sarsour, Bob Bland, and Carmen Perez—also known as the national cochairs of the Women’s March on Washington. “We work peacefully while recognizing that there is no true peace until there is justice and equity for all. Hear our voice,” Mallory said. Their no-frills speech was met with rousing cheers and standing applause—and the show hadn’t even started.Hoffman took a brief hiatus from the runway fashion calendar to steer her business in a more thoughtful,sustainable direction, but the decision to show today went hand in hand with the political climate. “I was inspired to do a show and use it as a microphone for something bigger,” she explained. “These women just pulled off the biggest human rights protest in the history of the country. The subject matter is a little heavy, but now’s the time to talk about it.” Unlike some of her peers, Hoffman’s approach was gentle and sincere; if anyone could pull off a political T-shirt or radical slogan, it’s her, but she’s confident the message can come across in subtler ways.As for the clothing, the mix of models and contemporary dancers (all of different races, ages, and gender identities) moved comfortably in Hoffman’s arty new collection. Monochrome was a big takeaway, like the marigold jacket and pants and the silky matching set in a vivid celestial print. Not so long ago, the designer was best known for exotic digitized prints, but she’s essentially scrapped those. In fact, the buffalo-check shirtdress and coat felt almost opposite in their American-ness. As a whole, the show represented precisely why America is great and how it can be even greater—namely by supporting the marginalized, getting actively involved in the causes you believe in, and always working together instead of going it alone.
14 February 2017
At a Resort preview in June,Mara Hoffmanoffered a glimpse into the next phase of her brand. The clothes were noticeably softer-looking than the vibrant prints and body-con dresses she’s known for, but the changes were deeper than that, too; Hoffman was busy making her collection more sustainable, from the fabrics to her sales strategy. Spring ’17 marked the first big push in that direction, with clothes that, as Hoffman put it, “you can wear and wear and wear.” The rise of disposable fashion was one reason Hoffman felt the need to shift her business, but she doesn’t want the clothes to scream sustainable or eco-conscious. “We still want to lead with an emotional response,” she said. “That has to be the first thing. You aren’t going to buy something out of a sense of duty, or because it’s sustainable. You have to really be in love with it.”For Hoffman, that started with the actual feel of the clothes. “Softness is so important to me,” she said. “I wear so much vintage, so I’m used to things that have really beenworn.” A white shirtdress came in a lovely organic cotton jacquard from Japan, and Hoffman enlisted an all-women weaving group in India to create the dreamy powder blue–striped fabric for a slip dress and cropped trousers. Those textures had a warm, human touch that was missing in her signature prints, which often felt a bit flat. Hoffman admitted she hasn’t worn much print lately, and designing for herself is central to her new ethos; surely other like-minded women are craving washed-out colors and natural textures. “The root of the collection is still there,” she said. “It’s still about celebrating joy and happiness and color, but it’s just reinterpreted and a little more refined.”There were moments of vibrancy, too, consistent with what’s happening on the runways this season. Hoffman’s longtime devotees will zero in on the lemon yellow midi dress and rainbow-striped linen pieces; they packed the same punch as her digital prints, but with a softer, subtler feel.
3 October 2016
Resort marked an exciting new direction forMara Hoffman. Clothing-wise, her signatures were all there—jumpsuits, cutouts, vibrant florals—but there were bigger changes you couldn’t immediately perceive, at least not until you were up close. “We’re beginning to make shifts toward sustainability and responsible fibers,” Hoffman said. “It’s about making less, but making it better, and we’re really focusing on the fabrications.” Hoffman’s Tencel, birch modal, rayon, and organic cottons felt more luxurious than most of the fabrics you’d find at one of her competitors.Beyond materials, there was newness in her solid items, like a blush button-front dress and a black deep-V jumpsuit. “We’re known for our prints, and I love them, but I’m such a solid dresser,” she said. “I wanted more pieces that really resonate with me.” Along with zeroing in on a simpler, less complicated mode of dressing, Hoffman is blazing the trail for contemporary designers to rein in their massive collections and approach clothing more thoughtfully and responsibly. It starts with chemical-free, eco-friendly fabrics that waste less water, but designers also need to influence their consumers to shop differently. “I want to inspire women to buy less,” Hoffman said. “Spend a little bit more, but buy less. And it’s cool to rewear things. That’s how I wear my clothes, and I would love for my customer to get out of the mind-set of buying so much stuff and only wearing it a few times.”
17 June 2016
From Willie Nelson to . . . Cher? After a slightly uncharacteristic season devoted to the country star,Mara Hoffmanreturned to her ’70s-glam roots with a collection inspired by her favorite icons from the disco era. “It was about bringing all my muses into one place,” said Hoffman, name-checking Grace Jones, Jerry Hall, and Cher. Their influence could be felt in the sequin zebra prints, the louche jumpsuits, sexy halter, and velvet suiting, all of which would look right at home on the dance floor at Studio 54. Hoffman wanted to take the collection in a moodier, more cocktail-appropriate direction; her signature exotic prints—especially on a keyhole halter jumpsuit, which Hoffman herself was wearing—translated well to after-5 (or midnight) hours. “I imagined an eclectic evening with all of my muses there,” she said.That’s why she decided not to do her typical runway show and instead opt for a presentation. “I wanted to be able to set a mood,” she explained. “I thought I could story-tell in this environment much better than the runway.” Part of that story included 90-something model and artist Ilona Royce Smithkin, who positively beamed from a pink sofa. “I wanted to show the ageless and timeless beauty of women,” said Hoffman.
13 February 2016
Mara Hoffmanisn’t afraid to take her inspirations literally. Willie Nelson was the starting point for her Spring collection, and you could sense it from the first look: Nelson’s beloved song “Blue Skies” was playing, and the set was decorated with a bright sky backdrop that mirrored the model’s own sky-print suit. The girls even sported Nelson’s signature waist-length braids, in case you didn’t pick up on the reference. But the musician has a very particular take on Americana, which presented a new challenge for Hoffman, whose print-heavy collections are known for being exotic. She updated Levi's by embroidering them with cornstalks and experimented with classic shirting silhouettes, but she also made a point of casting diverse models to represent America’s rich blend of cultures.What really felt new for Hoffman, though, were the tomboy looks. Slouchy overalls, boxy suits with bolo ties, and button-down shirts with popped collars were some of the most masculine clothes she’s done, but she was drawing from her own personal style: “My collections are really feminine, but more often than not I’m in vintage jeans and a shirt buttoned all the way up,” she said. Of course, that can be really sexy: Even Hoffman’s most covered-up propositions, like the closing look—a sheer, star-embroidered shirtdress layered over matching wide-leg pants—felt alluring in an unexpected way.
12 September 2015
Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim is happening in Miami later this month, and one of the biggest names on the calendar is Mara Hoffman. Most people associate the designer with her vibrant, kaleidoscopic bikinis and maillots—we've lost count of how many times we've seen them on Instagram this summer alone—but when it comes to ready-to-wear, she's looking to diversify. "We're trying to expand with other fabrications," she said. "You can get a bit limited when you're constantly putting out all these prints."The good news is customers are responding to Hoffman's simpler, more textural offerings, like the linen culottes embroidered with a few palm fronds in her new Resort lineup. She also played with a soft blue-and-cream-striped fabric, as seen on a slouchy jumpsuit and corseted midi dress. The bold pattern was just a touch nautical; Hoffman's fellow Brooklynites won't feel too preppy wearing it. The collection's loose inspiration came courtesy of Morocco, but overall, this was a palatable mix of Hoffman's "greatest hits" and easy, eclectic new basics.
7 July 2015
One click through Mara Hoffman's brightly colored collections might lead you to believe she was based in L.A. or Hawaii, but the born-and-bred New Yorker makes a convincing case for a vibrant winter look. For Fall, she strayed a bit from her signature digital prints. Her key reference was Charles Fréger's bookWilder Mann, in which the photographer traveled to 18 European countries to capture the rituals of men dressing in full animal skins. "It's about this connection to earth and animal," Hoffman explained. The designer has become synonymous with that kind of bohemian, free-spirited oeuvre, so her next source of inspiration was a little more unexpected:Star Wars. "When I was putting the palette together with all of these creams, whites, and camels, I thought, This is completely Luke Skywalker," she said with a laugh. "I fell in love with the landscapes on his planet, Tatooine, and I wanted to modernize and feminize the 1977 film."Hoffman is a flower child at heart, so don't expect R2D2 metallics or futuristic space suits. Instead, she played with textures like quilted cotton, dense embroidery, and gold beading to add just a hint of sci-fi by way of the late '70s. A new fabrication for her was tufted chiffon, which appeared on a few rainbow-striped pieces that looked like sheared fur from afar. Their swirling patterns created a "textural landscape," as Hoffman put it. She also experimented with layering, which would probably shock her swimwear devotees. "We're known so much for our prints and swim, so Fall is really our time to stand up and show our diversity," she said.One of the first looks out was a wool coat layered over a jumpsuit layered over a turtleneck—with a pile of braids atop the model's head for good measure. Hoffman also proposed wearing thin turtlenecks under summer-ready slipdresses. It was a cute proposition, but the jumpsuits were undoubtedly Hoffman's best pieces, especially the ones that were belted tightly at the waist with a few ropes of leather. In the future, she should expand upon those minimal-yet-artsy looks: A fluffy fringed coat was effortlessly chic.
14 February 2015
Mara Hoffman's name is synonymous with her electric prints, but for Spring she set out to prove her evolution and range as a designer. "I do fabrications. I do silhouettes. I do a whole lot more than just blasting you with neon prints," she said backstage before her runway show. "I wanted to shift the equation and create something that reflected more of my own personal aesthetic. I want my girl to grow and hope she comes along with me on the trip." Scaling back those in-your-face graphics made for a tranquil, easier collection that ultimately captured Hoffman's mantra: "Be light."The first look out—a white linen button-down paired with matching wide-leg culottes—exemplified this season's new, softer direction. Continuing to work with natural fabrics and a muted color palette, Hoffman whipped up relaxed pieces including a floor-sweeping terra-cotta-hued bandeau dress, and a woven shirt-and-trousers set with faded rainbow stripes. More often than not, patterns were incorporated in the form of beading (a dégradé checkerboard slip, in particular, earned high marks) or embroidery (Hoffman's favorite group featured "electrolyte" needlework). And while the designer largely moved away from her signature prints here, she couldn't help but sprinkle a "harvest" motif resembling cannabis leaves throughout the lineup. Hoffman took her finale bow in a cute cutout jumpsuit splashed with the mood-lifting pattern, which is sure to become a hit among her loyal, free-spirited customers. Talk about a high point.
6 September 2014
"It's the most black I've ever sent down the runway," said Mara Hoffman backstage before her Fall show. That statement was somewhat alarming coming from a designer beloved for her vibrant, original prints, but Hoffman reassuringly followed up with: "The sky needs a black backdrop for the stars to shine." This season, she drew inspiration from Northern Africa—specifically, Moroccan rugs, Egyptian camels, and Bedouin jewelry. And while she filtered several patterns (including graphic checkerboard and engineered star motifs) through a monochromatic lens, they still packed plenty of punch and reflected the collection's more grown-up tone. In addition to offering bohemian signatures such as floaty maxi dresses and caftans, Hoffman also stepped up her tailoring with sharp topcoats, tapered trousers, and a standout, braided silk suit etched in fringe. Texture played an important role here too, with several noteworthy looks featuring allover sequins or intricate beadwork. The finale gown and its dramatic matching veil were covered with thousands of tiny, carefully placed seed beads. Overall, Hoffman's new collection took a sophisticated step forward, but still maintained a characteristic, carefree spirit.
7 February 2014
Mara Hoffman beams a positive energy that lights up a room. "There's a Rainbow Warrior moment happening here, she said backstage before her spirited Spring show. "This collection is about straight-up happiness. I know that sounds hippie-dippie, but it's real." Hoffman wasn't kidding about the rainbow thing. In addition to playing up her signature vibrant prints (including a graphic serpent pattern and her go-to third-eye motifs, which she did long before Kenzo), Hoffman showed maxi dresses and sheer caftans embroidered or embellished, respectively, with ROYGBIV-colored arcs. Other standouts in the lineup included tie-dyed jumpsuits, intarsia-knit ponchos, and a pair of short shorts cut from artisanal Guatemalan belts—the same ones wrapped around the models' Willie Nelson-esque braided extensions. Hoffman's aesthetic is niche, to be sure, but you can't say these clothes don't have soul.
6 September 2013
Mara Hoffman stays true to herself and her business when approaching a new collection. She's successfully mined a niche in the contemporary market by specializing in vibrant prints. Resort and swimwear are the designer's most lucrative seasons by far—she could make a best-selling bikini in her sleep at this point—so Fall is always somewhat of a comparative challenge. Hoffman rose to the occasion by ramping up cozy knits and outerwear items that were very on-brand. As it passed down the runway, a blanket wrap with a mystical intarsia "all-seeing eye" symbol seemed like the natural companion to the bright minidress shown underneath. Other statement-making looks here included a quilted bomber embroidered with a tribal Suzani pattern (native to Uzbekistan) and hooded robelike coats that would appeal to a gypset vagabond. Backstage before the show, a calm and confident Hoffman said, "It's not my job to be a leader in American sportswear, but rather to be a leader in light."
8 February 2013
"Aloha from New York" was Mara Hoffman's message today. Interpreting the idea quite literally, the designer commissioned a ukulele band and topped each model's look with a palm headpiece to drive home the collection's theme. Chiffon maxi gowns were embellished with bright, color-blocked cording details, and a canvas safari jacket featured fun motifs like toucans and pineapples created with seed beads. Kitschy? Sure. But Hoffman's enthusiastic clientele will ultimately take away the languid Polynesian-print cutout dresses, on-trend board shorts, and best-selling bikinis. Backstage before the show, Hoffman told Style.com, "I realized everyone isn't necessarily looking to wear Alex Wang, so I decided to stay true to myself and bring my energy, pure and clean."
7 September 2012
The past few Resort seasons, Mara Hoffman has been focusing on swimwear, which accounts for more than 40 percent of her business at this point, but she decided to reinvigorate ready-to-wear this year. One reason Hoffman's bathing suits are so successful is their lower price point, which the designer says she kept in mind while creating her new lineup. "I've learned my customer is happy to substitute real silk with less expensive materials like modal and rayon so long as she still gets the print," she said. Tropical toucan pattern dresses with fluid silhouettes were cut from these more affordable fabrics and will take Hoffman's customer from brunch to the boardwalk and back, while button-up dresses knotted at the hem and maxi looks could easily make that day-to-night transition with the addition of heels. Hoffman's smart textile choices mean that her fans can stuff their weekender bags with several of these effortless pieces.
12 June 2012
"Shaman gauchos" was the theme of Mara Hoffman's latest lineup. The designer, known primarily for her lively prints ("that's how we tell our story"), did presentations the past few seasons, but decided to up the ante for Fall and "give the clothes the movement they deserve on the runway," she explained backstage before today's show. There is always a mystical intention behind Hoffman's work, so meteorite patterns, tapestry motifs, and "third eye" symbols appeared on signature screened silk dresses and intarsia knits. And a jewelry collaboration with All For The Mountain featured complementary Mayan calendar talismanic charm necklaces.But what might sound like a pastiche of spiritual inspirations actually made for breezy looks that you could picture any bohemian bombshell wearing on a relaxing weekend afternoon. A cozy shawl-collar wrap coat and graphic beaded tweed cloak, in particular, made a case for the outerwear offerings here. Naturally, Hoffman threw in a few more editorial pieces, like a sheer, floaty "dashiki" dress, and is reportedly pulling out all the magical stops when she designs pal Pamela Love's wedding gown for a ceremony in May.
10 February 2012