Maria Cornejo is a Chilean-born fashion designer based in New York and known for her Zero + Maria Cornejo collection.[2][3]

Maria Cornejo
Born1962 (age 61–62)
EducationRavensbourne College
OccupationFashion designer
LabelZero + Maria Cornejo
Spouse
(m. 1988; div. 2021)
Children2[1]
Awards2006 Cooper Hewitt National Design Award
2018 Fashion Group International Sustainability Award
2023 Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award

Life and career

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Cornejo was born in Chile[2] in 1962.[4] After the 1973 Chilean coup d'état, her parents, who had worked at a publishing company, lost their jobs. After staying in Peru for a year and London for six months,[2] at the age of 12, she and her family relocated to Manchester, England during Pinochet's dictatorship.[5] In 1977, her mother died.[2] In 1984, she graduated from Ravensbourne College in London,[4] and with John Richmond, created the Richmond/Cornejo label.[5] She then moved to Paris[1] and married Mark Borthwick in 1988.[4]

In 1996, Cornejo and her family moved to New York City. Two years later, in 1998, she opened a store called Zero which she converted from a garage space on Mott Street; the store was later renamed Zero + Maria Cornejo.[1]

Clients

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Cornejo's clients include Michelle Obama, Tilda Swinton, Christy Turlington and Cindy Sherman.[4]

Honors

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Cornejo was the Fashion Prize winner of the 2006 Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt National Design Awards after being selected as a finalist in 2005.[5] Cornejo has been a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) since 2003 and an original member of the CFDA Sustainability Committee. In 2010, Cornejo won the first CFDA Lexus Eco Fashion Challenge and in 2017 was awarded one of the top three prizes in the CFDA + Lexus Fashion* Initiative, a 17-month long business development program aimed at accomplishing measurable sustainability changes within the business. In 2018, Cornejo was honored with the Fashion Group International’s Sustainability Award at their Night of the Stars Gala in New York City. In 2019, Cornejo was appointed to the CFDA board of directors by the new chairman, Tom Ford.[6] In 2023, she received the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award from the CFDA.[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Friedman, Vanessa (26 November 2023). "The Survivor". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d Garcia, Laia (11 March 2016). "The Lenny Interview: Maria Cornejo". Lenny Letter. Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  3. ^ Ginsberg, Merle (19 June 2012). "Designer Maria Cornejo on Her New Show With Artist Alice Waese and Wearing Her Own Designs (Q&A)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 26 December 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d Livingstone, David (28 March 2012). "Fashion: Michelle Obama, Holt Renfrew among designer Maria Cornejo's big fans". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014.
  5. ^ a b c Heller, Sabine (2 September 2009). "A Glimpse Of Designer Maria Cornejo: A Michelle Obama Favorite". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 22 March 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  6. ^ Jackson, Jame (4 September 2019). "The CFDA Just Appointed Four New Faces To Their Board, And They Are All People Of Color". BuzzFeed. Archived from the original on 26 December 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  7. ^ Lockwood, Lisa (7 November 2023). "Khaite's Catherine Holstein Wins American Womenswear Designer of the Year at 2023 CFDA Fashion Awards". Women's Wear Daily. Archived from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
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