Hasta La Ideas

In late 2008 and throughout most of last year, fashion designer Maria Pinto had seemingly reached the pinnacle of her career. She was designing clothes for Michelle Obama‘s high-profile outings, joining the Council of Fashion Designers of America, crafting the uniforms for Chicago’s 2016 Olympic bid, and if that’s weren’t enough, she was even dressing Oprah. Unfortunately, despite all those positives, the realities of the economy always get the last word and Pinto has announced that she is closing her operations and will be filing for bankruptcy early this week. She tells the Sun Times that the reasons included “soft buying trends at the top end of the apparel market.” Although this means the Pinto line as we know it will cease, she’s hopeful that there’s a Diane von Furstenberg-like resurrection in her future:

“I am confident that the ‘Maria Pinto’ name will not go away, but will merely take a break, before emerging in a new form. I plan on using the next several months to explore different avenues and opportunities for business, as economic conditions improve,” Pinto said.

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