Mara Hoffmanis closing her eponymous label after 24 years.
In an exclusive interview withVogue,the designer revealed that her spring 2024 collection will be her last.
Once that had been decided, it was between me and my team.
The designer Mara Hoffman launched her brand 24 years ago.
In 2014, she made a massive pivot to prioritize ethics and sustainability.
As the path less chosen often goes, none of it was easy.
There are not many companies that have successfully done this for as long of a period as we have.
Rosario Dawson presented Mara Hoffman with her2023 CFDA Environmental Sustainability Award.
Right now, anywhere from15 to 45 billion pieces of clothing that are produced go unsold every year.
Those pieces end up in landfills or in secondhand markets and on beaches in the Global South.
Reducing that number should be a core tenet for any sustainable brand.
Mara Hoffman, resort 2024.
It was the right time while I still own my name, she said.
You have to make time for both.
Mara Hoffman, resort 2024.
Mara Hoffman, fall 2022 ready-to-wear collection.
Mara Hoffman, fall 2022 ready-to-wear collection.
Mara Hoffman, spring 2023 ready-to-wear collection.
This is all Ive known, she admitted.
Mara Hoffman, spring 2023 ready-to-wear collection.
Ive grown up in my brand.
Ive been a brand my entire adult life.
Its been my identity.
Spring 2024.
Ive lived through this thing.
So, it wasnt just this idea of shutting down a business.
What made the decision even more difficult?
Hoffman, with a model in her spring 2024 collection.
She was finally getting recognition for her work from fashion at large.
Indeed, we are at a crossroads.
Can sustainable fashion actually exist and thrive in this environment?
Hoffman still thinks so, but hopes her decision is a wake-up call.
Hoffman, with a model in her spring 2024 collection.
There is also a lesson here about learning when enough is enough.
When too much clothing is just too much.
Everyone knows how to begin things.
People are not versed or trained in our culture to end things because we dont want to end things.
When people inevitably ask her whats next, shes OK with not having an answer.
It will forever be the most beautiful fucking love story that I could ever imagine writing, she said.
I got to work directly with thousands of women and bring them into a version of themselves.
