by doitinnorth | May 23, 2021 | style/mode
CAROLINE BLOUSE | coconut | earth dyed
A label focused on quality, purpose, and treating our Earth kindly.
Maria Stanley is built on the ideals of holistic lifestyle which includes building an everlasting wardrobe, without over-consumption, and a focus on quality, purpose, with a sophisticated awareness detail. All products are constructed with the highest quality materials, sourced from all over the world, and are made to last a lifetime. Each season offers new variations to refresh the wardrobe and not replace it. Maria launched her label in 2016.
“Our ethos and supply chain is dedicated to the slow fashion movement, and treats everyone with respect, fair wages and benefits.”
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SKINNY LUNA PANT | bonsai
BODYSUIT | clove | organic
BOBBI DRESS | bone | organic
MOCKNECK TEE | bone | organic + earth dyed
mariastanley.com
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Related: Native MN Fashion Designer
Related: An interview with Maria Stanley
by doitinnorth | Oct 30, 2020 | style/mode
Maria Stanley is a premiere Minneapolis based fashion designer, her unique label is built on the ideals of a holistic + everlasting wardrobe, without over-consumption. Focused on quality, purpose, and natural materials. Here is her ode to the beret, sweater coats and more!
Maria Stanley
by doitinnorth | Nov 25, 2019 | style/mode
As a creative child growing up in Forest Lake, Minnesota, Maria said she had firm opinions about dressing since she was in diapers. “I spent most of my childhood quietly drawing and playing dress-up,” she explained. “My mom used to sew, and I remember watching her, but I was fairly self-taught when I started making my own clothes in high school.”
Although she was a good student, she preferred spending time in the art department. “I dreaded the thought of going to college until I discovered FIDM,” she said. “I begged my parents to let me apply, they said yes, I got in, and moved to Los Angeles two months after graduating high school, and never looked back.”
While at FIDM, Maria interned at an outerwear brand called Tulle and she designed loungewear for a celebrity stylist. She learned the “ins and outs of this ‘biz” at a family owned company, Bizz Inc., and designed their ready-to-wear brands for a couple of years before they asked her, at age 24, to launch a new contemporary collection.
That brand, Harlyn, which was featured in Vogue, was Maria’s passion for five years and made her realize she wanted to be an entrepreneur instead of having bosses. “Working in an office environment was always hard for me,” she said. “I need to travel!” After realizing Minneapolis was growing creatively, she decided to return home and operate her own business.
She told the publication that short-term trends are her enemy. “I believe you’re going to want to wear your Maria Stanley piece every day, and it’s going to last the rest of your life because I focus on ethically made, beautiful, well-cut, functional pieces. I focus on building a long term relationships and evolving with them over time,” she said.
An advocate for the slow fashion movement, Maria produces her collections in a family-owned and run factory in Delhi, India (her knits are made in Peru). The result is hand-finished, low-impact pieces that are as natural as possible. She’s currently experimenting with plant-based dyes. “Just like the food we eat, we should know where clothes come from and the story behind them,” she added.
Mpls.St.Paul Magazine
View her F/W19 collection: mariastanley.com
Instagram @mariastanley
