Now a grandmother, designer Maria Cornejo has a renewed eye on the world. “It’s a bit of a crazy place right now; I think we need a bit of beauty and romance back into the world,” she said at an interview in her downtown studio.
Cornejo’s design world is full of dualities — masculine versus feminine, hard versus soft — so her take on romance is grounded with some edge. “Pretty but it isn’t,” she called it. She did dive into a more girly side with a surprising, for her, dip into florals and pinks. But not so fast — her pink is dusty and on technical fabrics, like a boxy smock wrap coat with three-quarter sleeves, shown over a pant with banded ankles, made for what she lovingly calls her “nerdy girl” customer.
Leaning into the cerebral isn’t anything new for the designer, who is obsessive about fabrics, pushing for new eco options from her mills. Her collection notes come with detailed fabric composition of each piece, and many of her materials are Global Organic Textile Standard — or Global Recycled Standard —certified. Today’s modern dresser cares about consumption, and Conjelo matches that passion with transparency in her origins.
Her florals have a wink, too. She showed one “jarring” yellow and blue pattern on a long coat, put over a sky blue shirt and wide-legged eco denim white pants — she had been pushing for white eco denim, and now it’s realized. It was pop of color and pattern that will prove versatile in a modern wardrobe. Her shapes skew boyish, mixed with tailoring, along with a new seasonal take on a jumpsuit, a core proposition to her brand. Knitwear does dual duty too — ribbed with reddish and oatmeal stripes it reads softer, done in blue it becomes mannish.
With events are ramping up, “people want to celebrate again and just be in the moment,” she said. She meets the need with a mix of black options, for example a burnt-out lace coat and black pant. Color is fun, but there will always be a need for a LBD or the perfectly cut pant. Thankfully, Cornjeo has options for both camps.
