MARA HOFFMAN

You probably already know New Yorker Hoffman’s namesake label, which has been around since 2000, and counts Beyonce and Kim Kardashian as fans. Like Gucci and co., it’s become more sustainable-minded – except that it started to do so a year before them circa S/S ’17, and has been stepping up its efforts every season since.

It’s one of the few brands to have nailed the delicate balance between being eco-friendly and fashionable – if anything, its rise in the style stakes runs parallel to that in green standards. Previously better known for luxe hippie vibes with plenty of vibrant prints on beach resort-perfect separates, its aesthetic now is more arty downtown girl. S/S ’18, for example, is filled with vintage-tinged smocks, slips and tailoring with simple, relaxed cuts and generous splashes of colourblocking and painterly florals. What about the collection is sustainable? Hoffman introduced hemp and made sure all cotton used was certified organic. This is in addition to her opting exclusively for digital printing to create her lively motifs (it creates less chemical and water wastage), and changing all packaging – tags, bags, boxes and stickers – to be compostable and recyclable. Already, her efforts have paid off: Last year, she won the “Brand Leadership in Advancing Sustainability” at the BF+DA Positive Impact Awards.

Local fans can shop from her own website (www.marahoffman. com) as well as Matches Fashion (prices here range from US$110, or S$146, for bikini briefs to US$495, or S$660, for a dress) and Net-a-porter.

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