Vanities / Field Trip
“Sustainable doesn’t need to be
vanilla,” says Chilean-born Maria
Cornejo, a founding member of
the CFDA Sustainability Committee
and frequent award recipient for
her innovation in responsible fashion.
“It can be luxurious. It can be sexy.”
Her long-standing NoHo atelier, Zero
+ Maria Cornejo—of which Christy
Turlington and Michelle Obama are
fans—is proof positive of her belief.
And by using upcycled fabrics
(car seat leather; recycled cashmere)
and local manufacturing, Cornejo
demonstrates that it can be refreshingly
pragmatic too: “If a yarn is Bolivian,”
she says, “then we knit it in
Bolivia. If the leather is from Italy,
then we make the shoe in Italy.”
— Change
AG E N T
Designer MARIA CORNEJO’s
Manhattan oce is a
hothouse of ethical fashion
“I always say: Get creative with less. It’s amazing
how creative you can be when you put
limitations on yourself.“ 2. Cornejo in her own design.
3. A recent sketch. 4. Cornejo
and longtime client Michelle Obama.
Markers Tria Pantone,
Chartpak Ad, and Sharpie. 6. “I love
the cat because he’s so happy.
Women move, we work, we have many
different lives—like cats, you know?”
2.3.5.4.6.28 VANITY FAIR PHOTOGRAPHS BY COLE WILSON APRIL 2020