After 24 years in business, Mara Hoffman has announced she’s placing a pause on her New York-based label, with the spring 2024 collection being the company’s last collection. Hoffman posted a letter on Instagram noting that this break will give her “the space to reset and redirect [her] vision and energy into other creative outlets.” The brand will sell this final collection and existing pieces until everything is sold out.
Hoffman founded her label in 2000 after graduating from Parsons School of Design. As president and creative director, the brand was known for beautiful prints and highly covetable swimwear. Some brands collaborated with include Pendleton, Anthropologie and Converse.
In 2015 Hoffman shifted to focus more on sustainable materials and production and n 2023, she received the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Environmental Sustainability Award.
In the letter she acknowledged the challenges of the sustainability movement, stating, “We have been fighting for what feels like a long time to make this vision and model work in an industry that I believe deep down in its heart wants to heal and become better. But at the end of the day, its structure is archaic and was never built to prioritize Earth and its inhabitants.”
Pausing the business, she said, has been one of her hardest and most important decisions. She looks forward to resting and welcoming “beautiful new invitations into my life.”
The full length letter is below.
