Maria Dionisiou

   It was a long trip on a cold, February day. The trek to Attitash MT in New Hampshire was a long, and quite boring one to say the least. Accompanied by my best friend, Mariah, and her mom, Georgia, there was someone else was tagging along for the weekend ski resort getaway. Georgia's friend, Maria, had come to their house the night before we left, and when we picked her up from the train station in Westwood, MA I learned she had come from NYC and was a fashion designer. I didn't really think much of it and I thought that she probably worked in a designer's office, designing clothes that would never have her own name on the label. On that snowy, long car ride, I learned otherwise.
   Maybe one or two hours into the trip, Mariah was telling me about her mother's friend's profession. She mentioned how she lived in Jersey City and worked in New York City and she in fact did have her own line. Mariah explained that Maria designed coats and her and her mother even had coats by Maria. Being the fashion fanatic I am, I was so interested and began interrogating Maria about her job. Maria had the humor of a world class comedian and knowing her for about twenty hours, I felt like I had known her my entire life.
   The rest of that weekend was pure bliss. I don't think I've ever come home with better stories about how much fun I had. Maria was an excellent snowboarder and we were afraid to tell her otherwise. She always had a story to tell, and we never lost sight of her in her plaid and white snowboarding suit. She was equipped with an attitude and an opinion to match. Every conversation with Maria was a debate filled with laughs. When Mariah and I would tease her about her style, she would defend herself saying that she had the coolest Nike IDs in town- which was true.
   I later learned that Maria is a BU Graduate and went to school for Business Administration but had followed family tradition and chose to become a clothing designer. She began designing outerwear and coats and made her name known amongst many famous designers. Maria has designed many coats that have appeared in off Broadway shows, television shows, and in numerous music videos. She designed pieces for the Oscar Awards Fashion Shows and was recognized in the credits among famous designers such as Gianfranco Ferre, Jean Paul Gaultier, Gianni Versace, Anna Sui and many more. Maria also consulted and produced clothing, outerwear and accessories for celebrities and designers such as Patti LaBelle, Freddy Star, Fred Hayman, Adrienne Vittadini, Kimora Lee Simmons, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Anne Klein and more.

   She's a talented women who's an easy person to make a connection with. Next weekend, October 22-24, I'll be in New York City with Mariah and Georgia to to model Maria's Fall/Winter 2010-2011 line. We're all so excited to travel to NYC and especially to see Maria again. I hope this trip is as memorable as our ski vacation and I'll have many pictures to put up after the shoot. Check out Maria's site at www.mariadionisiou.com - you'll be speechless! That's all forxx ZM