Maria Cornejo has spent spring on the road, visiting stores around the US—Austin, New Orleans, Chicago, Detroit. In Denver, where she put on a fashion show at the Contemporary Museum of Art with her retail partner, Max, a ZMC superfan introduced herself. “She said, ‘I’ve had so much fun in this dress,’” Cornejo remembered during a recent studio visit. “That’s why we’re still here, we’re always listening to our customers.”
Cornejo’s business turns 25 this year, a milestone that shouldn’t go unremarked. Over that quarter century, the fashion industry has become more and more consolidated, with resources concentrated among a small number of super brands, which in turn command the lion’s share of retail and e-tail real estate, and thus the fashion media’s attention. To stand out as an independent business in that landscape, a designer needs to have a unique selling point—a voice.
That’s one thing that Cornejo has never lacked, as a tour through the racks in her showroom reminds us. She resurrected a circular grid print she created at another museum, San Francisco’s de Young, a decade ago for this resort collection, but it’d be wrong to call it a greatest hits lineup. Cornejo’s vocabulary is well established. She worked here with the easy-wearing, elegant circular and triangle shapes she’s long favored, as she does most seasons.
The novelty comes from the fabrics, which only become more interesting as time goes by. There’s the circular grid print, in different colorways for the diverse regions where her collection is sold. Us New Yorkers get the black version with fiery orange and yellow dots, while the white will play better in the south and west, she said. There’s a soft cotton matelassé whose vibe is different depending on its color; white says beach wedding guest and the two-tone brown-and-black option looks ready for holiday parties. And there’s stretch luxe velvet in jewel tone shades of citrine and amethyst for a caftan and a figure flattering column with a lightly elasticated waist.
As far as fun is concerned, this season’s top contender is something new from ZMC: a short dress with a deep-v neckline and no sleeves. “They want to show off their legs and look sexy,” Cornejo explained. Always listening.
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