Inside Mario Cornejo’s World: The Woman Designer Lifting The CFDA Lifetime Achievement 2023 Award
Mario Cornejo bags the CFDA Lifetime Achievement 2023 Award. The news came as a massive surprise for her as this is the first CFDA acknowledgment for her in her 25-year-long career as a designer.
Cornejo’s win comes at a significant moment when the fashion world is looking for more female representations in the design sector.
Nevertheless, Cornejo got the call about her win from Steven Kolb, the chief executive officer of CFDA or the Council of Fashion Designers of America. It was the month of June this year and she was spending a quiet time at her Brooklyn home with her feline companion for 18 years, Ziggy.
Cornejo opened her first store 25 years back. The news was shocking for her as, in her 25-year-long journey, she has stayed away from celebrity endorsements, paid partnerships, and other marketing tactics common in the fashion world. So, on receiving the news, she thought how could one survive and win a game which one is not playing according to the norms?
Cindy Sherman, the artist, has been wearing Cornejo’s creations for the longest time. The American artist says, “She’s never even kissed up to Anna Wintour.”
Cornejo’s CFDA acceptance speech was as unique as her way of playing and surviving in the fashion world. Standing under the great blue whale of the American Museum of Natural History and amidst the presence of Kim Kardashian, Gwyneth Paltrow, and her peers, she said that she wanted to give up.
Also, she mentioned how she found herself to be a misfit in a scenario where the fashion world relied heavily upon TikTok’s marketing gimmicks.
In an interview taking place just a few days before the award ceremony, Cornejo said that she did not want to be a rebel. She further added,
“It was more just doing my stuff in a quiet way that I believed was best. I’m quite stubborn. I wanted to make wearable clothes that would feel good, but I didn’t want boring mom clothes. The goal was to have a great collection, be able to pay everybody on time. Pay myself. Be home to see my kids. And have a vacation every once in a while.”
However, there is no denying that Cornejo has been a great success in her fashion endeavors. Her clientele includes Michelle Obama and actresses Laura Linney and Tilda Swinton. Cornejo runs her company along with Marysia Woroniecka, her business partner.
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