Where once fashion was a way to express social status, it’s now become an outlet to advocate for human rights,  allowing individuals to celebrate themselves by producing discourses around body, gender, and beauty.

Mara Hoffman is environmentally conscious by producing sustainable collections, and also striving to be conscious of the world surrounding her customers. We checked in with the CFDA member to discuss sustainability, Women’s, BIPOC and LGBTQ+  rights, and the Supreme Court’s recent decision of Roe v. Wade.

As a woman and womenswear designer, how do you overcome challenges when trying to share unique experiences of womanhood through your craft?

I tend to lean more into storytelling and narratives around feminine energy and power, which I believe can be experienced by many genders. My craft, while based in my own experience as a cis woman, exists to create joy, comfort, and power to anyone who is attracted to the designs.

Although fashion is worn on the outside, it has often been a way to mirror how we feel about ourselves. How did you intertwine your style and storytelling in your recent Pre-Fall 2022 collection?

My collections are always meant to be a celebration of self, regardless of the season. That said, the warm weather of summer into the beginning of fall emboldens us to wear color and show more skin which is itself an act of self-love and a statement of bold existence. We own ourselves and our bodies, which is a feeling I hope as women, and all folks whose bodies are being controlled and exploited, we can remember and hold on to. This may be easy for some, and feel impossible to others though, and so I always urge the former to fight for, lift up, protect and support the latter.

What are your thoughts about the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade? How do your dress practices embody your response to Roe v. Wade ruling to control the woman’s body?

I am disgusted and heartbroken by the vile human rights violations of this country. I will continue to respect and promote the work of civil rights activists who have worked tirelessly over the years by pushing for women’s rights, restoring them, and building greater networks of support, including those for non-binary folks. The clothing I design is meant to empower, a word often overused, yet I believe that what you wear can spark joy and confidence and that those miniscule moments of feelings are the catalysts for the avalanche of power that can ensue, and what is needed to bring change.

In what ways do you believe your design aesthetics such as the use of flowers and spirals uplift women’s confidence?

Embodying and owning their femininity. Refusing to shrink and be quiet in a patriarchal society but stand out. Fashion can only take us so far though I believe with all of my being in the ripple effect. So for example, what you decide to wear can greatly affect your mood, thinking, and decision-making. While every individual will have their own reasons for resonating with some of our designs, my hope is that they create joy, fuel power, and heighten confidence. My designs are often inspired by patterns and symbols I see in nature, and to me there is no greater source of tenacity, evolution, growth, and regeneration than in nature. That, to me, is what divine feminine is about and what I hope the designs on our clothes inspire in those who wear them.

Your first design was a skirt made for your mother’s birthday. You felt seen as she wore it all the time. Since then, your visibility has increased tremendously through your brand. What has encouraged you to use your brand to advocate for all women across the world?

My brand is an extension of me, my thoughts, as well as the collective power and beauty of all of the people who make up my company. It is a company that is passionate, creative, kind, hard-working, opinionated, stubborn, and relentless. We are vocal internally, and as such, we are vocal externally. My platform has grown, and thus the size of our megaphone has grown so there is deep responsibility in how that tool is used. I am beyond grateful to every individual in our network and in our community, most of whom identify as women, and so I will continue to protect our rights, the rights of the marginalized and disenfranchised, because that is who we are as a company. That is who we HAVE to be as any woman-led company.

As times continue to change, conversations pertaining to sustainability expand in fashion as well. How have you managed to continuously push for social development?  

Pushing for social development as a fashion brand is not straightforward. We recognize the paradoxes that exist. We will not be paralyzed by them, though, and so we push to do better and be better regardless of whether or not anyone is listening or watching. Our social impact work is done because it must be done. I believe deeply to my core that we can evolve and change and that caring for the planet and its inhabitants is the only way to exist.

Today, most fashion and sustainable conversations are focused on environmental change. How do we hold fashion brands accountable to speak to social justice within underprivileged communities?

The word sustainability is complex because of how differently people, companies, and brands use it and define it. For my company, we see it as a framework, with metrics but not one singular, definable goal. If a robot was programmed to only turn left or right, it would just go round in circles, not advancing in any way. That’s how we view our journey. We must walk using any and all the limbs that we have, we must use our brains, our hearts, all of the organs and disposal. This translates into focusing on the environment, social and labor issues, racial justice, economic justice, women’s rights, human rights, and all of the intersections of those constructs. That is what will create sustainable change to achieve equity. Understanding and holding ourselves accountable to the fact that we have worked within an industry that has perpetually created waste and pollution, leading to climate change, and ultimately disproportionately affecting under resourced, underrepresented and underserved communities means that social, racial and economic justice must be defined as the main spokes, amongst many, in our wheel of change. And we cannot just focus on change in the present and future, we must as an industry include reparations for the damages done in the past.

The Pre-Fall 2022 collection is about pleasure, refusing to shrink but to grow despite the challenging time we are living in. How does it feel to know that your brand values resist the Supreme Court’s decisions that significantly alter women’s rights in America?

I think that celebrations, happiness, gratitude, and joy are their own acts of resistance, care, survival and revolution. Living in a country that has systematically oppressed women, BIPOC, and the LGBTQ+ community, amongst the other, is draining, and even more so for those individuals who sit at the intersection of these communities. So I will use the voice, platform, energy, and resources I have to resist and refuse, to fight and protect the body of every woman and non-binary individual until they receive the level of care and safety they need and demand, equitably, across society.