Pinto’s Understated Elegance
Pinto is best known for her luxurious line of eveningwear. Her graceful designs combine classic shapes with extravagant fabrics and detailing. Such elements come together to find that perfect and luxurious blend of wearable elegance. Some of types of special accents she is works into her gowns include silver tulle with silvery shimmers captured in its weave, lace texturized with a python print and shantung carefully aged with acid to bring out its beauty in unusual and exciting new ways. Her palettes are usually neutral in order to let the richness of the designs and materials take center stage.
Pinto is a self-admitted addict for the finest fabrics – in fact, she travels to Paris a few times a year for fabric shows -- and she prides herself on working them into the most figure flattering shapes. In addition, the clothing is perfection right down to the exquisitely tailored seams and often features beads, sequins and feathered embellishments to make them truly unique.
Taking Inspiration From Many Places
In a recent personal interview, the designer revealed her creative side as she talked about taking inspiration for her work from a number of unexpected, but moving, sources, including photographs of nomadic tribes in Ethiopia. The drape of animal skins and the shape of natural shells translate well into wearable art. She also looks to the curve of sculptor Richard Serra to take a lesson in achieving just the right curve, as well as geometrical shapes in the perfect proportions and angles, to make a woman wearing her designs look sensational.
Maria Pinto’s Story
Pinto is a native of Chicago who started to sew when she turned 13, but didn’t turn to fashion as a career until she turned 30. That’s when she attended the School of the Art Institute, where she focused on clothing design and construction. Following graduation, she worked in New York City for designer Geoffrey Beene, then returned to the windy city in 1991 to apply what she had learned from the master to start her own prestigious accessories collection, which was sold in the finest department stores and boutiques. Building on this fast success, she also branched out into couture and read-wear lines of day and evening clothing designs, which were sold at a variety of New York City shops.
Overcoming Serious Roadblocks
However, Pinto soon faced several challenges that threatened her success. First, the terrorist attacks of the World Trade Center in New York City resulted in many New York stores cancelled their orders of her clothing. Then, the designer discovered one of her employees had embezzled thousands of dollars from the business. These setbacks prompted her to finally close her business in 2002, 11 years after starting out on her own.
