Maria Pinto

Maria Pinto is a contemporary American designer and artist who creates beautiful, versatile fashion with a modern, urban edge. She 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 Michelle Obama, Marcia Gay Harden, Brooke Shields, and Oprah Winfrey. A longtime client said, “Wearing Maria’s clothes makes me look and feel like the best version of myself.”

In 2013, Maria launched M2057 by Maria Pinto, a ready-to-wear collection inspired by urban architecture and design. She successfully raised more than $270,000 on the crowd-funding platform Kickstarter to start the label. M2057 embodies Maria’s clean, minimalist aesthetic, giving women fashion that is versatile and chic. Marrying superior design quality—sculptural lines, luxe-feeling Italian fabrics—with ease and versatility—most of the pieces are machine washable and very travel friendly—it is a collection that makes women feel beautiful and also keeps up with their busy lives.

In addition to designing M2057 and her previous Maria Pinto label, Maria has designed fashions for the Joffrey Ballet and the James Hotel in Chicago, and the Skylark Bar in New York. She served as Creative Director of the department store Mark Shale, where she led the buying team and curated the women’s fashion collections. Her work has been featured at the Field Museum in Chicago and is now part of the permanent collection there.

When she’s not designing for her own collections, Maria teaches at Chicago nonprofit Marwen, an organization that encourages artistic development in underprivileged youth. As part of its “No Waste” initiative, M2057 donates all fabric remnants to Marwen for its fashion design classes. Maria also serves as a member of Chicago’s Advisory Council on Cultural Affairs and Special Events.