My Story

Dear Reader,

 

Well, here's my story...

Learning to sew when I was six, fashion became my love at a young age. My mother always says, “She came out like this!" Born in Portland, Maine, into a family of artists and art-lovers, I was lucky my creativity was fostered and encouraged. Before school early in the morning and late into the evening I would sew away, creating something to wear the next day.

As soon as I could, when I was 15 I began to work for Jill McGowan, and ate up any bits of  information I could. There, I started honing my pattern-making skills, learned the values of working in retail, and saw the beauty of making garments in-house. That is also when my dedication to sustainable practices in the fashion industry emerged. I knew I wanted to start my own fashion line, but I realized quickly the waste in the industry, and couldn't contribute to the carnage of fast-fashion.

In New York I attended the Fashion Institute of Technology, where I majored in Women's Ready to Wear and minored in Sustainability and Ethics in fashion. Working throughout my time in school, I gained invaluable experience designing in menswear and print design.

After F.I.T.  I worked for several start-up brands, developed a luxury women's line, which brought me to Paris fashion week, and worked on several films doing costumes. That newly-found love of costume brought me to Florence, Italy, where I had the privilege of being mentored by Ellen Mirojnick, the mastermind behind the costumes for Bridgerton, Oppenheimer, and the Greatest Showman (to name a few! Wow!).  

And, finally, here I am back in Portland, Maine, dedicating the next chapter to starting the dream that awakened when I was six. That dream has been cherished,  toiled over, and, most importantly, supported. Thank you endlessly to the wonderful humans who have encouraged that spark of creativity; to the teachers and mentors I've been so lucky to have, thank you for seeing my love of this craft and sharing yours.

With a true love for garment-making, the stories a piece of clothing can tell, and a loyalty to sustainable practices in the company I am creating,  I am honored to present to you my work.

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Made with love,

Eleanor Anne Pritlove Cox