Fashion Fans Lament the Closing of Mara Hoffman’s Namesake Label
After 24 years, designer Mara Hoffman is shuttering her eponymous label. In an announcement via her Instagram, the CFDA Award winner for sustainability announced that her forthcoming summer 2024 collection will be her “last offering for the time being,” allowing her to redirect her “vision and energy into other creative outlets.” She went on to write that “at the end of the day,” the fashion industry’s “structure is archaic and was never built to prioritize Earth and its inhabitants.” The announcement comes just months after the designer closed her flagship store in New York City.
Hoffman launched her brand in 1999 after graduating from Parsons and quickly gained recognition, in part thanks to interest from famed stylist and costume designer Patricia Field. Hoffman’s splashy and colorful resortwear made her work a must-have among young celebrities at the time. Still, it was her eventual attempt at committing to sustainability that made her and her line beloved among her loyal customers.
In 2014, according to Vogue and the New York Times, Hoffman moved away from explicitly producing resortwear, restructured her supply chain, stopped using synthetic fabrics like polyester, and began creating Fair Trade Certified clothing — a certification meant to “ensure safe and healthy working conditions, the elimination of forced/child labor, fair and consistent compensation, and environmental protections and product traceability,” according to the organization’s website. Eventually, Hoffman switched her company’s business model from wholesale to a direct-to-consumer model to avoid overproduction and combat the financial hurdle of increased production costs.
Just last year, in a testament to her brand’s impact and longevity, a popcorn dress made of Tencel from Hoffman’s label became a cult favorite, not just among fashion insiders but with the public at large, after Beyoncé posted a photo of herself wearing it. It was not uncommon to see at least one or two people wearing the dress at any event in New York.
The chatter surrounding Hoffman’s departure is mostly filled with gratitude and borderline grief. The comment section under the designer’s Instagram post includes editors, activists, fans, and fellow designers thanking Hoffman for her impact. “The sustainable fashion industry is what it is today because of you Mara,” the climate activist Sophia Li wrote. “You have done the most every chance you got and have uplifted us when nobody would,” Céline Semaan, the founder of the Slow Factory, commented. “Love you! So many great sustainable things ahead,” Venus Williams said.
Although Hoffman is indeed departing from her beloved label, she promises we’ll be hearing from her soon enough. “My work is far from done,” she wrote. “I am looking forward to resting for a moment and then welcoming beautiful new invitations into my life. To create, collaborate, and lend my vision to meaningful projects. I know that I am here to help, and I am so excited to see how this unfolds.”
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