Maria Pinto, the designer, is a mirror of Maria Pinto, the person. In her designs, as in her person, you discover the essense of creativity and integrity of design, determination to go beyond the expected and achieve the best, and a beauty that goes beyond style.
The match of fabric to fit is elemental to the achievement of the best of design. Maria Pinto intuitively understands the elemental principles of fabric and fit. Maria handpicks her fabrics for their functional and luxurious nature, and she meticulously edits in the development of a collection to design garments that cleverly build a woman’s wardrobe. Season after season, she has matched the rich traditions of artisanal textiles hand selected from around the world with the modernity of American design. Pinto creates collections that define ‘classic with an edge’.
Maria Pinto believes in the integrity of her garments, stating, “the elements must juxtapose and harmonize with balance. I take into consideration women's needs, and I design pieces that are versatile yet inherently beautiful, not only today, but also over the longer term. I think a solid wardrobe is an investment, and the pieces I create should have a quality and workmanship that is timeless,” states Pinto.
Maria Pinto's designs evoke a deliberately modern and confident sophistication. Over the years, a wide range of women, including celebrities, have felt exceptional wearing Maria Pinto. Many find her fashion to be empowering, as well as sexy. One of her longtime clients has said, “Maria’s clothes make me look and feel like the best version of myself.” Whether her clients are high profile figures or fashion conscious design sophisticates, they all come back to Maria Pinto for her tailored silhouettes that are made to fit a variety of lifestyles.
“I like to think of myself as an artist first -- but at the end of the day, I stay true to designing for women of substance and style,” says Pinto.
Maria Pinto is a graduate of Chicago’s School of the Art Institute, majoring in fine art with a focus in fashion. Pinto, also, attended New York’s Parson’s School of Design and the Fashion Institute of Technology. Soon after graduation, Pinto landed a coveted position working for legendary designer Geoffrey Beene. It was while working with Beene that Pinto learned the importance of ‘paying attention to detail’, the techniques of draping, and the art of editing.
The Maria Pinto label made its fashion debut with a collection of luxurious accessories at Bergdorf Goodman in 1991, after being ‘discovered’ by then-president Dawn Mello. Almost immediately, Pinto received recognition as a designer who could take unusual fabrics and transform them into elegant, signature pieces. It was this initial success that gave her the confidence to expand her brand into the evening wear arena.
After closing her initial fashion house in 2002 on the heels of a deep downturn in the economy and an embezzlement, Pinto re-launched the Maria Pinto brand in 2004. Taking the best of her first initial efforts combined with renewed determination and fresh creative energies, Pinto reopened the doors with a new vision of the brand that would introduce separates for day, rounding out her previously successful evening wear and accessory collections.
In August of 2008, Pinto opened her first boutique, a natural extension of her atelier, located in Chicago’s West Loop. The store was a hit in the U.S. fashion scene and generated significant revenue for the small company. The sleekly sophisticated loft space, muted dark wood tones with glimpses of color, proved a retail match for the Maria Pinto collections. Customers could feel and see the essence of the brand from the moment they walked through the door.
Pinto’s collections have been featured in major fashion publications, including Vogue, WWD, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar and InStyle. She has received many prestigious design and fashion accolades throughout her career, including the opportunity on two occasions to design seductive costumes for the Joffrey Ballet (Recorde Per Due (2002) and Age of Innocence (2008)), the Best of Fashion Award, Chicago Magazine (2000), and the Gold Coast Fashion Award, previously awarded to Anne Klein, Donna Karan and Bill Blass (1998). In 2009, Pinto was honored by the Anti-Defamation League as the recipient of their Women of Achievement Award, and the School of The Art Institute’s Legend of Fashion Award.
