Maria Pinto creates beautiful, versatile fashion with a modern, urban edge, as exemplified by her ready-to-wear label M2057 BY MARIA PINTO. The American designer and artist is passionate about designing clothing that makes today’s woman feel gorgeous and confident, and she has dressed some of the world’s most fashionable women, including First Lady Michelle Obama, Marcia Gay Harden, Brooke Shields, and Oprah Winfrey.

M2057 fashion has been worn on the hit show Empire, and Pinto’s designs have been featured in Vanity Fair, the New York Times, Women’s Wear Daily, the Wall Street Journal, and the Chicago Tribune, among other publications. In 2012, Pinto co-curated an exhibition for the Field Museum, Fashion and the Field Museum Collection: Maria Pinto. Her designs are now part of the Field’s permanent collection. Pinto is the recipient of the School of the Art Institute’s “Legend of Fashion” Award. She also serves as a member of Chicago’s Advisory Council on Cultural Affairs and Special Events.

Pinto launched M2057 in 2013 by raising more than $270,000 on Kickstarter, becoming the crowdfunding platform’s most successful womenswear campaign at that time. In addition to M2057 and her Maria Pinto luxury label, Pinto has designed fashions for the Joffrey Ballet and James Hotel in Chicago, and Skylark Bar in New York. She served as Creative Director of department store Mark Shale, where she led the buying team and curated the women’s fashion collections.

Maria Pinto has been a CFDA Member since 2009.