Maria Cornejo makes directional yet timeless clothes. Her collections change ever so subtly by a process of fine-tuning, not radical change. This makes for a fan base of obsessive collectors, the kind who like to parse the difference between the geometries of one season's sack dress and the next. For close observers, what will make the designer¿s work for spring stand out is the explosive color—there was a long cocooning cardigan in chartreuse, a tangerine sweater dress, and a silk plunge-neck jumpsuit in azure blue.
Before the show, Cornejo said that she was inspired by nature, especially water. That translated into a jersey dress with a lacquer-shiny panel down the front and a navy patent-leather swing jacket. There was also a glossy white patent tote with black straps that received appreciative glances from many in the room. A graphic print used for a shift dress and a more fitted sheath was, it turns out, an abstracted image of light reflecting on a lake. The irony here is that Cornejo was thinking organic, and she came up with some of the coolest and most urban looks of the week.
