For women who always seem to look effortlessly stylish but not uber-feminine, there is sustainably inclined designer Maria McManus.
Her latest line for spring 2023 builds a capsule wardrobe with a twist — adding neon green stockings here and organic cotton velour there (in the form of an asymmetric skirt and floor-skimming tank dress) to shake things up again.
With inspiration from her influencer friend Leandra Medine Cohen, McManus asked not what her community could do for her, but what she could do for her community. “What if our community became so enthralled in at-home composting, for instance, that they had one less hour a week to think about consuming anything new,” she wrote in her look book notes. She elaborated on the thought in a preview at her TriBeCa studio and home with WWD, discussing community gardens, supplier relations, her latest fabrications and antioxidant-filled treats like the chocolate almonds that drifted about the room.
Her excitement begins with more responsible fabrics that don’t bore (which can often be the case in the sustainability space). Elements like her new organic cotton velour in a body-skimming asymmetric skirt and dress, complement bestselling classics like McManus’ signature oversized shirts. GOTS-certified organic cotton is employed throughout signature styles, with the addition of glossy sateens and an ultra-soft cotton voile used for a boxy, nearly neon citron short set. A number of fabrics come from Japan with designs sampled in New York and created by way of her small team of European patternmakers and tailors.
In a closer look, McManus touts details on outerwear, like her organic cotton trench, complete with trapunto stitches and cupro linings made from cotton waste on a closed loop production system. But through it all, the enduring tailored look for McManus continues to be a mid-rise, wide-legged silhouette, and this season, blazers are updated with six buttons.