MARA HOFFMAN – the dark horse of fashion whose moment is coming

DATE: Early August, pre-NY Fashion Week

Text, Vivian G Kelly
Images, courtesy of Dan & Corinna Lecca

We’re on our 2nd of probably 6 issues of The Fashion Calendar devoted to the upcoming NY Fashion Week – the spring 2010 collections.
All told, we’ll probably attend between 50 – 80 shows and presentations in the course of the 10-day event.
One of the designers we’re most looking forward to seeing is MARA HOFFMAN. She’s not “a big name” as in she’s not insanely wealthy like a Ralph Lauren or impossibly cool like Marc Jacobs with powerhouse KCD Public Relations running the show and doing their all to preserve the air of exclusivity that surrounds all of Marc’s shows.
SO, what IS it about Mara Hoffman? The answer is simple – she’s a good designer. This fact dawned on us as we sat in her RTW presentation a year ago. We liked the spring 2009 collection but didn't catch the fall 2009 show, losing patience with the musical chairs game that seemed to be going on in the tent. In other words, there were around 8 chairs for something like 20+ editors circling about like vultures. Being that there were 2 other presentations taking place in that time slot, we walked out and hopped the subway over to something else out in the Forbidden Zone.
This season, though, our attitude towards this show isn’t as cavalier. What changed our minds was the slam bang SWIM SHOW Mara showed during Mercedes-Benz Miami Swim week. It was hands down the best show of the week – easily. We were already aboard the fan wagon but a visit to the DASH boutique on 8th and Washington sealed the deal. The Kardashian sisters’ offerings were varied, trending to the young and sexy, in keeping with their Miami and LA clientele. Most memorable were the outfits that jumped out at us during our 20 minute visit. Our associate, RICHARD SPIEGEL, from www.thefashiontribune.com agreed with us that the Mara pieces were not only the best in store, they were also reasonably priced.


MORE ABOUT MARA
Mara Hoffman is a New York fashion designer who launched her line, Mara Hoffman, in 2000. She’s a grad of the prestigious Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London and Parsons School of Design in New York City. Ms. Hoffman early collections featured hand-dyed couture pieces. Her current collections concentrate heavily on original silk prints inspired from nature, world travel and fantasy.
THE CELEBRITY FACTOR
Celebrity fans include Kate Hudson, Nelly Furtado, Nicole Richie, Mischa Barton, and Drew Barrymore.



WHERE TO BUY

At top retailers worldwide, including L'Eclaireur in Paris, Henri Bendel in New York City, DASH, Miami, and Holt Renfrew in Canada

For more information, visit www.marahoffman.com