Maggie Marilyn presented her Resort collection on a Bowery Hotel terrace. Though the Manhattan skies were gray, it was a fitting spot for the young Kiwi designer. Marilyn takes a pioneering approach to sustainability issues. Her latest effort is the addition of an open source platform to her website, which posts, among other things, the names of her suppliers. More transparency means more accountability. Get Marilyn talking and she’s a real fount of knowledge on the subject, too. “Fifty percent of fashion’s damage to the environment happens after purchase,” she said, explaining that the sun is a “natural detergent.” To deodorize, just hang your garments from a clothesline, no dry cleaning or washing machine required.
The news of the collection started with a hand-loomed organic cotton denim that she used for a lilac jumpsuit and a pinstriped pink suit. “I want to get back to the humanness of production,” she said. One of her bestsellers, the suit jacket comes with a pair of godets; unbuttoned they create a flared, feminine silhouette, buttoned they produce a cleaner, more streamlined look. To keep up with all the competition on the tailoring front—it’s selling well across the board—Marilyn should keep refining her fit. As for dresses, the story was the soft pastel palette, and her first-ever embroideries. They’d look very pretty hanging from a clothesline.
