Maria Cornejo, the winner of the Geoffrey Beane Lifetime Achievement Award, teamed up with Laura Linney to attend the 2023 CFDA Fashion Awards.Photo: Getty Images
On Saturday, Maria Cornejo announced the news on Instagram: “From the fall of 2025, our focus will shift to the best-selling style that has become the most popular part of our wardrobe, with the focus being meticulously crafted with upgraded fabrics from the archives.”
Well-designed design – Responsibly making fabrics or using your own remaining inventory has been at the heart of Cornejo’s practice for years, but that’s different. Cornejo and her business partner Marysia Woroniecka are adjusting their operations. Relying on existing models will not only eliminate the cost of product development, but will also free up other projects Cornejo: She has been organizing her own storage facilities in the hope of donating to museums in the United States and Europe.
Cornejo opened her first store in Nolita in 1998 and her vision was obvious from the beginning. The preference for geometric cutting never fails, leading her to establish an Arty Arty, Advant Garde client: artist Cindy Sherman, model Stella Tennant, actress Chloe Sevigny, jewelry designer Jill Platner. Ten years later, she moved into the boutique she occupied today on Bleecker Street and led her neighborhood. In 2023, she won the CFDA’s Geoffrey Beane Lifetime Achievement Award.
Independent designers have been hit hard by the recession that began last year, and tariff changes in the U.S. government will only exacerbate this. However, there are several factors in the Maria Cornejo brand: Cornejo has always favored the timeless trend, and the consistency of her vision has produced a loyal customer base. Also: She has been designing for 27 years and has many patterns on her fingertips.
“My goal has always been to make good heirloom or good old fashioned clothes, not tilts,” she said. “Of course, I like fashion, but I do like the idea of things because things are timeless and longer than a season of life. I think customers do that.” Indeed, they seem. In the comments section of her Instagram post, one client wrote: “As long as you make it, I wear several different fabrics in your long dress. Another makes this decision cheer. “It’s classic! This is evolution! ”
Cornejo is both active on zoom phones. “I think it’s a good model because I think people are really overwhelmed. People are visually saturated.” There does seem to be a movement towards simplicity. “We are giving customers what they want,” Cornejo said. “And we don’t have to work hard. It’s also like a life decision, you know. We think it’s going to keep us organized and understand what we can do, what other things, what other opportunities there are.”
