Mara Hoffman’s Spring/Summer 2013 runway was a sea of
vibrant colors, prints, and Island culture. Inspired by the Hawaiian expression
“Aloha”, meaning PEACE, Mara Hoffman debut a collection as beautiful as the
Hawaiian Islands themselves; stating, “Each season, my goal is to take the
audience on a journey and express the transcendent feeling of love and
positivity. This is what we wish to be known for and want to capture in our
shows; always celebrating beauty and having a little fun with it.”
With a celebrity studded front row, hosting Bryan Boy, Rumi
Neely, Jessica White, Irina Pantaeva, Lil Kim, Julie Henderson, Kenza Fourati,
Charlotte Ross, and India De Beaufort to name a few the venue was buzzing in
anticipation.
Key looks from the collection featured prints including
Aloha (abstract geometrics), Medicine Wheel (herbs and flowers), and Desert (Mara’s
interpretation of quilting print); all this balanced out by more subdued pieces
of earthy color palettes. Also injected into the collection are the more
novelty pieces that amusingly allude to the tourist life of the Hawaiian
Islands. My definite favorites are the dresses featuring the peak-a-boo
cut-outs and the blazers bursting with prints and color.
One note- worthy thing that invoked such a strong feeling of
home for me was that throughout front row they placed jasmine blooms in each
seat. I grew up in the Philippines with a front yard covered in jasmine
(locally called sampaguita), and the venue was filled with the aroma so it
automatically triggered a sense of peace as I recalled childhood memories.
Another beautiful collection by Mara Hoffman only made better as one recalls fond
memories; this was truly one memorable runway show.