646-552-2726      

 mmalia2@gmail.com

Being born and raised in South East Connecticut has given me a deep appreciation for New England tradition and the ever changing seasons. This would later provide me with a solid base for my design ideology. Start with the known; classic and fuse with ephemeral twist. 

At age 5 my favorite color was navy.  At 7 my inspired profession, shoe designer. I spent many hours in my mother's sewing room tracing the covers of vogue patterns to better enhance the design of the clothes featured. Being the daughter of a french mother forged a sense of individuality in me, which was enhanced with a love for menswear when borrowing clothes from my two brothers.

The Norwich Free Academy readied me with a vast knowledge of the different arts and their fields. Armed with that erudition I pursed a Fine Arts study in oil media at a Central Connecticut State University. A few years of mixing color enhanced my eye for color.

After two years my unsettled soul set out to discover the world. I spent a year in Hawaii only to return to Connecticut to gain employment as a sign painter, color separator and ultimately, graphic artist.  It was suggested that I return to school to study fashion design and illustration. My obsession for thrift shops and reconfiguring old clothes had become overly apparent, ...the final straw must have been when I wore pajama bottoms as pants.   

The Fashion Institute of Technology recognized my drawing skills and encouraged me to enter design illustration contests which, upon winning, opened my world through travel to Italy, Paris, Hong Kong and Thailand. 

I have a weakness for clothes with soul, an article of clothing with meaning and or function. But generally, I just love clothes.