Two weeks ago, beloved sustainable designer Mara Hoffman announced the shuttering of her namesake brand after 24 years in business to an outpouring of gratitude from her devoted fans. In her good-bye letter posted to Instagram, Hoffman promised to “sell this final collection and existing pieces until we have sold what we have left to offer.” That time has now arrived. June 5–9, Hoffman will host her final sample sale, after more than 15 years of doing so in New York City, bringing what’s left of her inventory and pieces from her spring collection to 477 Broome Street. At the sale, there will be such pieces as the Zia dress, the Salma Fair-Trade dress, the Stella dress, and, of course, the Popcorn (formally known as Eliza) dress. In an exclusive to the Cut, Hoffman walks us through what else we can expect at the sale, shares what life has been like since announcing her departure from the industry, and gives us a glimpse of what might come next.
How have you felt since you announced you were closing your brand?
I felt like I was at my own funeral. There’s been such a beautiful outpouring of appreciation and love and frustration and some perspectives of anger. Not toward me, but toward the system and some of the challenges I pointed to in the letter. And then a lot of beautiful, honest voicing of “I can’t wait to see what you do next.” It has been such an experience to be present when everyone gives you their eulogy. I’ve been doing a lot of screenshotting to remember this. (Some versions of those will be part of a book one day.)
Tell me about this sample sale.
The dressing room at sample sales has always been one of my favorite things. To be like, “Can I tie that for you? Can I get that belt for you? Let me show you how to wear that dress.” I’ve always loved the tactile hands-on aspect of this work. And so the sample sale is like that on steroids.
We’re doing the sale in this new space, on Broome Street. And when I was checking it out, I was just like, “How much space do we have and how many mirrors?” So that nobody is cramped. Just to make this one feel as good as we can, give the best last hurrah.
How long have you been doing sample sales in New York, and do you remember what your first one was like?
The first one was really in the back of a friend’s loft, and it was 15 or 16 years ago. It was one where I was still making everything by hand. When I started the brand, everything was handmade and hand-dyed and hand-beaded, and they were all like pieces of art, really. I would make the clothes for the sample sale to bring people in. And my friends would come through and scoop them up, and I’d sell them at a discount, but it was just a way for me to keep running my business.
What can we expect to see on sale?
There are going to be pieces from the spring collection that are current in the world right now. And then all the beautiful one-off samples that our fans get really excited about getting because they’re things that never went into production.
Some pieces that will be on sale:
Have you pulled anything for yourself?
The Adrian coat, which is one of our top sellers. It’s this denim trench. And for spring, we made it in cream, and it was so beautiful and cool, but it didn’t get picked up. People didn’t want to buy it, so I will own that.
You touched on it earlier, but how are you feeling knowing that this will be one of your last sample sales, one of the last times your community gathers like this?
I feel extraordinary gratitude for even being in this beautiful experience and in this situation for 24 years. Holy shit. Then there’s a part of me that is like, “How can you possibly feel ready?” It’s a tremendous thing to do that in your life. It’s crossed my mind that I’m not going to the office in three weeks to start a collection. I’m beginning a new life. I suggest everyone blow up their life once, because it’s worth it.
It feels like you’ve never been afraid of pivoting when something does not feel like a fit for you anymore, or a fit for your values. What is your key or secret to not keeping yourself stuck in a box?
It’s always been this authentic sort of voice that guides and directs, and it doesn’t come without extreme discomfort. It just feels like the rightness is pointing me to what I have to do. That voice becomes louder than anything else. That’s how I know, because the voice doesn’t turn off. Then it’s this practice and trust where you’re like, “I don’t know what it looks like on the other side. But I don’t have a choice but to listen to the thing that’s telling me what to do right now.”
Does it feel like a sense of freedom is upcoming for you?
The word around it is curiosity. You can always choose. Get overwhelmed by the unknowingness or say “I’m so curious.” And I just don’t know quite yet what it is, but I know for sure that it will entail a moment of rest, some deep period of that. I think it’s as important as whatever comes next in some interesting way to pause. Because if I skip that, I’ve probably skipped the lesson.
Do you have any inkling of what the future looks like for you?
My core is an artist and a creator in service of beauty and healing. I can’t imagine women not being at the core of it. That’s my work. Once I’ve calmed and gotten through this, one of the first things that I want actually to do is make something for myself. I’ve been creating for a lot of people for a long time. And I think part of whatever needs to come next needs to come through a return to the artist and a return to the self for a moment.
I wear a lot of my father’s clothes. I’m very sort of a little bit masculine and uniform in my personal dressing. But I brought home so much of the fabric from my studio, and I just keep seeing — and this has been part of the inner voice — “make a red dress.” So I can tell you I know it’s red. And I know it will be beautiful, and I think there will be volume in it. And I know I’m supposed to do it all by hand, and I’m supposed to put it on my dress form in my tiny room downstairs in my house upstate, and I’m supposed to take my time with it, and I’m supposed to make it extraordinary.