Maria Cornejo
{{short description|Chilean-born fashion designer based in New York}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox fashion designer
| name = Maria Cornejo
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1962}}
| birth_place = Chile
| nationality =
| education = Ravensbourne College
| label_name = Zero + Maria Cornejo
| spouse = {{marriage|Mark Borthwick|1988|2021|end=div}}
| awards = 2006 Cooper Hewitt National Design Award
2018 Fashion Group International Sustainability Award
2023 Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award
| known_for =
| occupation = Fashion designer
}}
Maria Cornejo is a Chilean-born fashion designer based in New York and known for her Zero + Maria Cornejo collection.{{cite news |last1=Garcia |first1=Laia |date=11 March 2016 |title=The Lenny Interview: Maria Cornejo |work=Lenny Letter |url=http://www.lennyletter.com/style/interviews/a298/the-lenny-interview-maria-cornejo/ |access-date=11 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510065244/http://www.lennyletter.com/style/interviews/a298/the-lenny-interview-maria-cornejo/ |archive-date=2017-05-10}}{{Cite web |last1=Ginsberg |first1=Merle |date=19 June 2012 |title=Designer Maria Cornejo on Her New Show With Artist Alice Waese and Wearing Her Own Designs (Q&A) |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/fash-track/zero-maria-cornejo-alice-waese-338959 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231226034418/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/style/designer-maria-cornejo-her-new-show-artist-alice-waese-wearing-her-own-designs-q-a-338959/ |archive-date=2023-12-26 |work=The Hollywood Reporter}}
Life and career
Cornejo was born in Chile in 1962. 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, at the age of 12, she and her family relocated to Manchester, England during Pinochet's dictatorship.{{Cite web |last=Heller |first=Sabine |date=September 2, 2009 |title=A Glimpse Of Designer Maria Cornejo: A Michelle Obama Favorite |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sabine-heller/a-glimpse-of-designer-mar_b_275394.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322091754/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sabine-heller/a-glimpse-of-designer-mar_b_275394.html |archive-date=2016-03-22 |access-date=9 October 2012 |work=Huffington Post}} In 1977, her mother died. In 1984, she graduated from Ravensbourne College in London, and with John Richmond, created the Richmond/Cornejo label. She then moved to Paris{{Cite news |last=Friedman |first=Vanessa |date=2023-11-26 |title=The Survivor |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/26/style/maria-cornejo-zero.html |url-status=live |access-date=2023-12-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231204152200/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/26/style/maria-cornejo-zero.html |archive-date=2023-12-04 |issn=0362-4331}} and married Mark Borthwick in 1988.
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.
Clients
Cornejo's clients include Michelle Obama, Tilda Swinton, Christy Turlington and Cindy Sherman.{{Cite news |last=Livingstone |first=David |date=March 28, 2012 |title=Fashion: Michelle Obama, Holt Renfrew among designer Maria Cornejo's big fans |newspaper=Toronto Star |url=https://www.thestar.com/living/fashion/article/1153393--fashion-michelle-obama-holt-renfrew-among-designer-maria-cornejo-s-big-fans |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714114933/https://www.thestar.com/life/fashion_style/2012/03/28/fashion_michelle_obama_holt_renfrew_among_designer_maria_cornejos_big_fans.html |archive-date=2014-07-14}}
Honors
Cornejo was the Fashion Prize winner of the 2006 Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt National Design Awards after being selected as a finalist in 2005. 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.{{Cite web |last=Jackson |first=Jame |date=4 September 2019 |title=The CFDA Just Appointed Four New Faces To Their Board, And They Are All People Of Color |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/jamedjackson/cdfa-new-appointees-abloh-cornejo-cushnie-jean-raymond |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231226035312/https://www.buzzfeed.com/jamedjackson/cdfa-new-appointees-abloh-cornejo-cushnie-jean-raymond |archive-date=2023-12-26 |access-date=15 January 2021 |website=BuzzFeed}} In 2023, she received the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award from the CFDA.{{Cite web |last=Lockwood |first=Lisa |date=2023-11-07 |title=Khaite’s Catherine Holstein Wins American Womenswear Designer of the Year at 2023 CFDA Fashion Awards |url=https://wwd.com/fashion-news/designer-luxury/catherine-holstein-khaite-womenswear-designer-2023-cfda-awards-1235916002/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110225057/https://wwd.com/fashion-news/designer-luxury/catherine-holstein-khaite-womenswear-designer-2023-cfda-awards-1235916002/ |archive-date=2023-11-10 |access-date=2023-12-26 |website=Women's Wear Daily |language=en-US}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://zeromariacornejo.com/ Zero + Maria Cornejo Website]
- [http://cfda.com/members#!maria-cornejo CFDA]
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornejo, Maria}}
Category:American fashion designers
Category:American women fashion designers
Category:English fashion designers
Category:British women fashion designers
Category:Chilean emigrants to England
Category:Chilean emigrants to the United States
Category:English emigrants to the United States
Category:Artists from Manchester
Category:Designers from London
Category:Alumni of Ravensbourne University London